WASHINGTON - American University men's soccer team earned its second consecutive D.C. College Cup Championship after a 4-0 victory over Georgetown on a soggy Reeves Field. Peter Philipakos netted two goals and assisted on another as the Eagles defense once again proved solid in its second clean sheet in a row. Senior Larry McDonald earned Tournament MVP honors for American.
American (2-0) was dominant in the first half, outshooting the Hoyas (0-2) 13-3 in the stanza. Andrew Herman scored his second goal of the season in the 14th minute off of feeds from Shawn Kuykendall and Philipakos. Georgetown's goalkeeper, Tim Hogan, went to the ground and Herman drilled the ball in the center of the goal.
Sophomore Peter Philipakos scored two goals in the Eagles' win over Georgetown and added an assist. |
Georgetown's best chance of the game came in the 20th minute as Michael Banner fired a shot on goal just out of reach of goalkeeper Michael Behonick. Kris Bertsch was able to clear the ball for AU and preserve the shutout. For the second straight game, the Eagles were able to score off of a Kuykendall corner kick. This time, Sean Albright was there to head the ball into the net to score AU's second goal in the 33rd minute.
Philipakos scored both of his goals in under 10 minutes in the second half. His first goal came in the 53rd minute as Herman crossed the ball and Philipakos buried it off of one touch into the upper right corner of the goal. In the 62nd minute, Gordon Templeman passed the ball to Herman who centered the ball in the air. Philipakos jumped up and headed the ball into the net to give AU a 4-0 lead.
The defense was solid for the second straight game as the Eagles held Georgetown to only eight shots in the game. McDonald was joined in the backfield by Albright, Charlie Koniver and David Pryor. Behonick made three saves for his first shutout of the year.
"This was a great start, but it is only a start," American head coach Todd West said. "I think we are very dangerous going forward. I'm thrilled about the two clean sheets and we will be tested this Friday playing Connecticut on their field."
 |
| AU's men's soccer team after winning the D.C. College Cup. |
In the first match off the day, George Washington defeated Howard, 4-0. AU won the 2002 D.C. College Cup on the first tiebreaker, which is goals scored in the tournament.
AU placed four players on the D.C. College Cup All-Tournament team. Tournament MVP McDonald was joined by his backfield partner Pryor on the squad. Herman earned All-Tournament honors after scoring two goals and adding two assists in the D.C. College Cup. Kuykendall also earned All-Tournament honors after notching three assists in the two matches.
The season continues for the Eagles this Friday as AU faces Connecticut in the UConn/adidas Classic. The match starts at 7:00 p.m.
Goals: AU - Philipakos (2), Albright, Herman
Assists: AU - Herman (2), Kuykendall (2), Philipakos, Templeman
Saves: AU - Behonick 3; GU - Hogan 5
Shots: AU - 17; GU - 8
Corners: AU - 6; GU - 3
2002 D.C. College Cup All-Tournament Team
Michael Gbologah, Sr. D, Howard
Dave Mitchell, Sr., M, Howard
Jeff Curtin, Fr., D, Georgetown
Dan Gargan, So., D, Georgetown
Michael Goldman, Sr., M, George Washington
Arnar Johannson, Jr., F, George Washington
Matthew Osborne, Sr., F, George Washington
Andrew Herman, So., F, American
Shawn Kuykendall, So., M, American
David Pryor, Sr., D, American
Larry McDonald, Sr., D, American - Tournament MVP
