Gameday Central
George Washington	0
American	3
Goals:Herman (AU) 2, Baker (AU). Assists: Caccavale (AU), Kuykendall (AU). Saves: Myers (AU) 3; Lund (GW) 3

WASHINGTON -- In a rematch of the 2002 NCAA First Round, the American University men's soccer team began the 2003 season with a 3-0 victory of George Washington in the first match of the D.C. College Cup. Andrew Herman netted two goals and Nate Baker scored his first career goal while Salvatore Caccavale and Shwan Kuykendall each added an assist. Thomas Myers earned his fourth career shutout in goal.

American started off strong, controlling the play. Herman was fouled less than one minute in, giving AU a free kick. Kuykendall took the kick which was saved by GW goalkeeper Eric Lund. The Eagles earned a corner kick one minute later, but the Colonials were able to clear the ball. American possessed the ball through the early part of the half, earning a number of excellent chances, but was unable to convert.

George Washington began to pressure on the American, but the Eagles were able to score on the counterattack 14th minute. Herman passed the ball to Charlie Koniver who found space in the box. Koniver then fed the ball back to Herman who was able to beat two Colonial defenders and fired a shot on goal that went past the keeper. George Washington's Benjamin Mortimer almost made the defensive save, but the ball went into the net, giving American a 1-0 lead.

In the 18th minute, the Colonials had a good opportunity, but Fabio Andrade's shot went wide. In the 21st minute, American had an excellent chance as Herman centered the ball through the box in front of an empty net, but the Eagles could not get a foot on the ball. AU had another chance in the 22nd minute as Gordon Templeman deflected the ball that GW had attempted to clear. Kuykendall found John Fico who fed Herman, but his shot went just high.

The Colonials had one of their best chances of the match in the 25th minute off a free kick. The ball bounced around in the box before Nick Zaron was able to safely clear the ball away. In the 27th minute, the Eagles struck again as Caccavale, who had just moved up to forward from the midfield, crossed the ball to Herman who fired a shot in the upper part of the goal for his second goal of the match.

After a GW yellow card in the 33rd minute, Kuykendall sent a free kick into the box. Sean Albright headed it on goal, but Lund was able to tip the ball away. In the 39th minute, the Eagles added their third goal of the match as Kuykendall carried the ball into the box and avoided a tackle. Kuykendall slipped the ball across the box and Baker buried the ball in the upper left corner of the goal for his first career goal and giving AU a 3-0 lead at the half.

In the second half, the pace slowed drastically as it was apparent that the heat and humidity were affecting both squads. The Colonials had the first good chance of the second half in the 54th minute as Andrade carried the ball into the box. However, his cross went high and David Marut was able to clear the ball away safely. The Eagles had their first opportunity of the half in the 61st minute as Kuykendall played the ball ahead to Caccavale, but Lund came out to gather the ball and end the threat.

American was not done putting pressure on the GW defense. Off a free kick in the 69th minute, Albright blasted a shot after finding space, but it went just wide of the net. In another free kick in the 74th minute, Kuykendall sent the ball just just past the run of Nigel White. The Colonials had another good shot in the 82nd minute as Robert Kirchner crossed the ball and Jeremy Catlin fired a shot that went over the goal.

The Eagles took 12 shots in the match compared to nine for George Washington. However, only five total shots were fired in the second half. Both squads had two corner kicks. Myers made three saves in goal for American.

Herman's two goals moved him into sixth all-time in career goals and points while Kuykendall's assist moved him into a tie for sixth all-time in career assists. American will face Georgetown in the final match of the D.C. College Cup on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Listen live to Sunday's match by clicking on the link.