MORNING BRIEFING: Former Crew boss Andrulis leads red-hot George Mason

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Nov 24, 2008

Greg Andrulis, the former Columbus Crew coach, takes one of the nation's hottest teams to No. 2 Maryland for Tuesday's second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Tournament. George Mason extended its winning streak to eight games with a 1-0 win over Penn on Friday. Only the Terrapins, winners of 11 in a row, have a longer active winning streak.

Andrulis is in his third season at George Mason, which he took over on the eve of the 2006 season, and has successfully recruited some of the Washington, D.C., area's top players.

Fro Adu, Freddy's younger brother, is perhaps GMU's best-known player, though he plays a reserve role.

Andrulis recruited a pair of former U.S. U-17 national team players, Axel Levry and Richard Edgar.

Levry plays on the left wing on one of the nation's fastest attacks. Center forward Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, a transfer from St. Francis (Pa.), has scored nine goals in his last nine games.

Freshman midfielder Eber Martinez, who spent time on the U.S. U-18 national team in high school, scored the winning goal against Penn with a blast from 25 yards that curved into the upper-left corner of the net.

Another freshman, playmaker Ryan Gracia, will return against Maryland after sitting out the Penn game because of a red card he received in the CAA final against Northeastern.

The defense is led by Edgar and fellow defender Jonathan Borrajo, both All-CAA second team picks, and junior goalkeeper Sean Kelley, a third-team All-Conference selection.

Click here for the Soccer Insider's Steven Goff's interview with Andrulis.