Gameday Central
George Washington	0
American	1
Goals:S. Kuykendall (AU) Assists: None Saves: Behonick (AU) 7, Lund (GW) 5

WASHINGTON - The American University men's soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 victory over George Washington Saturday afternoon before 1,876 fans at Reeves Field. Shawn Kuykendall netted the lone goal of the match, scoring on a penalty kick in the 44th minute.

AU had a number of chances early in the first half, earning three corner kicks in the first ten minutes. However, the Eagles were not able to convert on any of the opportunities. George Washington had two shots early that were easily saved by AU keeper Michael Behonick.

As the first half was winding down, the Eagles began to put pressure on the Colonial defense. Jeff Kinney slipped the ball to Michael Grinsfelder who carried the ball into the box. Grinsfelder was tackled in the box by a GW defender and the referee awarded a penalty kick to the Eagles.

Kuykendall lined up the penalty kick and fired his shot into the lower right corner of the goal as GW goalkeeper Eric Lund dove the opposite way and AU had a 1-0 lead.

"You can't be afraid of that moment," Kuykendall said of the penalty kick. "There is nothing to lose."

As the second half started, it became apparent that the Eagles defense would need to step up for AU to win the match. GW forwards Arnar Johannsson and Matt Osborne caused problems for the Eagles in the backfield all match.

Sean Albright played one of his best matches at AU against George Washington.

"Their forwards are pretty tough," senior defender Larry McDonald said."They are very dangerous in the air and required us to raise our game to win the balls."

The Eagle back four of McDonald, Sean Albright, David Pryor and Robert Rezek played very well in the backfield all match. However, the Colonials begin to attack more as the clock wound down in the match. With under five minutes remaining, Matt Miller got free in the box and fired a shot on Behonick. The senior keeper made a spectacular save to stop the ball and then smother the rebound to end the threat.

On the counterattack, Shawn Kuykendall broke free down the left side and was in alone on Lund. Kuykendall's shot went to the far post, but Lund was able to make a kick save to keep the Colonials in the match. In the final minute of play, GW made one final push as the ball entered the box. In a scramble in front of the goal, Fabio Andrade shot on goal, but Behonick was able to make the save with 24 seconds left to send AU through to the second round.

George Washington outshot the Eagles, 14-10 in the match including holding a 10-3 advantage in the second half. Behonick had seven saves for AU while Lund made five for GW.

American moves to 5-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches held at Reeves Field. The Eagles next match is Wednesday Nov. 27 at second-seeded Maryland. The match begins at 5 p.m.