Since his arrival in the Washington area last fall, George Mason men’s soccer coach Greg Andrulis has immersed himself in the local soccer scene. But he’s no devotee of the local Major League Soccer team.
“Having been a Columbus Crew person for 10 years, it’s hard to be a D.C. United fan. I hope people understand that,” said Andrulis, who joined the Crew during the MLS’s inaugural season in 1996.
Now in his second season with the Patriots after being let go by Columbus at the beginning of the 2005 MLS season, Andrulis has begun to turn around a flailing Patriots men’s soccer program by relying on players in his backyard.
With a 3-2 win over Hofstra last weekend, George Mason (6-2, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association) earned its fifth consecutive victory, matching its best streak since 1998.
Sophomore Michael Vallie (Rockville/Good Counsel), senior Francis McCardle (Fairfax/W.T. Woodson) and sophomore Chris Carroll (Annandale/Falls Church) scored the Patriots’ goals.
“Throughout high school I never would have considered it as a possible school to come to,” said Carroll, who transferred this season from St. John’s.
“The previous guys didn’t really spend much time with the local guys and were committed to an international team. We’re pretty much the exact opposite,” said Andrulis, who has also made headway with a premier recruiting class of freshmen including midfielder Richard Edgar, a Mechanicsville native and graduate of the U.S. under-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla.; Irvin Martinez, who led Gar-Field High to the Virginia Group AAA state final last spring and has played for the U.S. under-18 national team; and goalkeeper Sean Kelley, an NSCAA All-American and 2006 Kentucky player of the year.
“You can tell it reflects a lot of stuff that he did in professional because it’s really high level,” said Kelley of Andrulis’s coaching style. “It’s even more than I expected, the step up from high school to college,I think that’s just because of all his experience in the pros. It’s more than just how fit you are or how good your touch is. It’s more tactical, technical, you have be so much smarter.”
Edgar also made a connection to Andrulis on a personal level. He’s diabetic, just like Andrulis’ son.
“My other coaches before, they can’t see if you’re play’s dropping, they don’t understand that it may be your diabetes, and he has a good understanding of that,” said Edgar. “I appreciate that because it helps me out and helps the team out.”
Just as the Patriots’ men’s basketball team’s Cinderella run to the Final Four using local players put what many still perceive as a Fairfax commuter school on the national map, Andrulis is trying doing the same thing.
“When you attract guys like Irvin and Rich Edgar, it makes it a little easier to get into some other people’s living rooms and talk to their sons about our program,” said Andrulis. “Those two guys have really helped us in the local scene as far as being able to make George Mason a destination or at least be able to get kids to investigate us and see what we’re all about.”
