Aug. 24, 2003

In the final exhibition match of the year, the American University men's soccer team earned a hard-fought victory over Towson, 1-0. Junior Andrew Herman scored the only goal of the match off a feed from classmate Shawn Kuykendall and the Eagle defense posted its second shutout of the preseason.

"I saw glimpses of the team we can become," head coach Todd West said. "We can still get much better."

American faced immediate pressure from Towson and in the sixth minute the Tigers earned a corner kick. However, the Eagles were able to clear the ball. Just one minute later, junior Nick Zaron found some space and carried the ball towards the box. He blasted a shot just outside the 18, but it went just high. In the ninth minute AU had another opportunity off a corner kick, but junior Sean Albright's header went wide.

Despite good pressure from the Eagles, Towson was able to counter in the 17th minute before the AU defense ended the threat. Two minutes later, the Tigers made a couple of quick passes before a shot by Armando Cunha went high. American earned back-to-back corner kicks and after the second one, sophomore Gordon Templeman crossed the ball to Zaron whose header went just over the crossbar.

With the AU midfield controlling play, Herman was able to fire a shot in the 25th minute that found its way past the Towson keeper, but a Tiger defender was able to clear the ball off the goal line. Towson had another chance in the 35th minute and was putting pressure on the AU goal before Albright cleared the ball safely away.

After possessing the ball much of the first half, American finally was able to convert in the 44th minute. Kuykendall won the ball at midfield and played it ahead to Herman who was making a run down the center of the field. Herman made a move as the keeper came off of his mark and shot the ball in the empty goal to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead at the half.

The second half began with both squads earning corner kicks, but neither team could convert. Towson began to put more pressure on the AU defense through the early part of the half. However, AU was able to get some good chances. In the 54th minute, freshman Salvatore Caccavale slipped the ball to Herman as the Towson keeper went down to the ground, but Herman's shot was high. Nigel Marples had two good shots on goal for the Tigers with his first in the 58th minute going wide and his second in the 60th minute being saved by junior Thomas Myers.

American continued to have opportunities to add the elusive second goal in the match. In the 62nd minute, junior Peter Philipakos gathered the ball inside the box and shot, but it was saved. 10 minutes later, freshman Jonathan Barbarin won the ball and passed the ball to Caccavale. Caccavale slipped the ball to sophomore J.J. King who crossed the ball to classmate Brett Reeder, but his shot went wide. The Tigers had three solid chances in the final 10 minutes, but were unable to convert as AU held on for the win.

The Eagles outshot Towson, 15-7, and had six corner kicks while Towson had five. Myers and sophomore Jeff Rosenthal each made a save in goal for American to combine for the shutout for the second consecutive match.

The regular season begins Friday for the Eagles in the D.C. College Cup. American has a rematch of last year's NCAA First Round with George Washington at 12 p.m. The tournament will be held at Georgetown.