Spring Sports Preview: George Mason

3 x 2? A year ago, George Mason High School won an unprecedented three State Championships. In 2005, both soccer teams and the boys varsity tennis team, look to add three more trophies to the burgeoning Mason mantle.

By Mike Hume

Three teams, three state championships. That was the feat George Mason High School’s boys varsity tennis and girls and boys varsity soccer teams achieved one year ago, earning them the label of soccer and tennis powerhouse in Washingtonian Magazine. Now it’s the feat they will try to repeat, with expectations already running high despite the graduation of more than a few key cogs to those championship machines.
The bar has been set high this year for these teams according to Cliff Carroll, the Mason girls soccer head coach.

“During the Spring Athletic meeting our administration told us they expected that the girls team, as well as the boys soccer and boys tennis team were expected to be playing in June,” Carroll said, with June the time for the State Championships. “That’s the girls expectation as well.”

In order to do so, the Mustangs will have to follow up their championship season with another extraordinary campaign, all the while replacing the likes of team leaders and leading scorers Becky Roa and Alison Penland, now playing at Mars Hill College and the University of Tampa respectively.

“We have players with the same level of talent, but not the same temperament,” Carroll said. “They had the ability to take over the game. Right now it’s not clear who will evolve into that role for us.”

The on-field leadership will be provided this season by tri-captains Rachel Sweeney, Samantha Wolfe and Christina Kirkbride.

Mason does return a top-notch defense anchored by junior goaltender Alex Pender.

“A lot will hinge on keeping her healthy,” Carroll said. “We don’t have a strong back up goalie, and we would have to turn to field players.”

Currently Roxanne Sweeney, a standout defenseman, is listed as the team’s back up.

Sophomore Katie Turner returns and looks to play a versatile role, both offensively and defensively, while Jessie Porzel could take over the lion’s share of the offensive responsibilities, though Carroll says that nothing is settled as of yet.

“We’re still trying to find the right combination of forwards,” Carroll said. “We have lots of players who can score goals, but we haven’t found a player who can do what Roa could do for us, which was basically score a goal a match. Striker is definitely our most unsettled position right now.”

Mason will also enjoy an influx of talent from freshmen Rachel Kazman and Annie Zweighaft.

Just as last year, the Mustangs’ chief competition comes from district rival Clarke County, the team Mason met in the championship games at the district, regional and state levels. The Mustangs bested the Eagles in both the Regionals and States, but Clarke currently holds the title of reigning Bull Run District Champions.
The Mustangs lock up with the Eagles for the first time at Clarke Friday, April 22, and then meet again at Mason Tuesday, May 10.

Mason could also face a challenge from what Carroll called a much-improved Manassas Park team. A squad that took large strides forward last season, if Manassas’ progress continues, Mason could have itself another tricky foe in the district. Outside the confines of the Bull Run District, Carroll notes Central Woodstock as a team to watch this season. Mason meets that squad March 30 and April 11.

Suffering similar losses among key personnel, the Mustang boys will be plugging holes left by the graduation of some star players, as they attempt to win their fifth state championship in eight years.

Most notably absent from last season’s squad (19-3-1, 9-0-1 overall), is goaltender Alex Fatovic, the Virginia Group A Player of the Year who now tends the net for Long Island University.

Attending to that unenviable task will be senior Josiah Larson, a First Team All-District mid-fielder, and the team’s back up goalie last season.

Larson’s move creates a shortage on offense. Last season, Larson combined with then-senior Peter Hamill (Roanoke College) to give the Mustangs a tandem of six-foot-six players that played havoc with defenses on corner kicks and long throw-ins, in addition to their ability to create on their own.

This season the mid-field falls at the capable feet of junior Mike Chaves, a two-year defensive starter and a member of the First-Team All-District last year. Nils-Peter Ek, the speedy Swedish striker returns to lead the attack on the opposition’s defense. He will be joined by fellow senior Ariel Toom, who moves up from midfield. Senior Herberth Garcia will play defensive midfield, while senior Paul Arnaudo (Second Team All-District) will anchor the central defense. Junior Gregg Curtin, who scored the game-winning goal in the State Championship against Clarke, will move from midfield to central defense.

Like their female counterparts, the boys team will rely heavily on its strong defense that allowed just eight goals all season in 2004. While the team will certainly miss the grittiness of graduates Peter Dittmar (First Team All-District, now playing at Barton College) and midfielder Andrew Montgomery, Head Coach Art Iwanicki believes that Kris McMahon and Tim Cammermeyer should be up to the challenge.

Junior Sean Nannery, senior Adam Knudson, junior Taylor Hamill and sophomore Erix Casteuble are expected to challenge for playing time during the course of the season.

The team also welcomes the addition of Antonio Randriansolo, who recently moved to Falls Church with his family from Madagascar where he was a member of the Madagascar U-15 national team.

“Antonio shows highly-developed skills for his age and an outstanding attitude with his new team,” Iwanicki said. “He should crack the starting lineup early in the season and I am highly optimistic about this young man’s potential.”

The Mustangs’ heated rivalry with Clarke reached new heights last season, including one incident last spring, which saw Clarke County parents ejected from the stands at what is now Moore Cadillac Stadium. Like the Mason girls, the boys met their rivals in the championship game at all three levels of playoff competition. After earning the regular-season district title, the Mustangs fell in the District Championship and again in the Regionals to the Eagles. With the State Championship on the line, however, the Mustangs dug in and did not falter, topping Clarke 1-0 in the final.

This season, the contests with the Eagles again highlight the schedule. The teams will meet at Mason April 22 and again at Clarke May 10. Manassas Park figures to challenge in this Bull Run District as well.

Of the three State Championship teams from last season, perhaps the one best-situated to repeat its title is the boys tennis team. Led by then-freshman Alex Goetting, the Mustangs cruised through the state competition last season, sweeping their final opponent to claim the program’s ninth state title.

A year older, Goetting returns with the majority of his teammates, including junior James An and senior Andrew Roller, in addition to his brother Andrew Goetting to seek a second-straight State Championship.
“We should be even better than last season,” Head Coach Dan Wilkie said.

Part of the reason for that optimism is the emergence of sophomore Xavier Alarcon and junior Jan Hinrichs, both new to the program.

“I’m hoping that they’ll jump into the top six immediately,” Wilkie said.
The team will miss Colin Ehmer last year’s No. 2 who graduated last June, but Wilkie expects that the new additions will make a immediate impact.

For the Mustangs, the road to the district championship is a simple one. Only Clarke County fields a tennis team within the Bull Run District. Beat Clarke, and the Mustangs take home the trophy.

The Mustangs square off against their lone-district foe April 14 at home and again at Clarke April 27.

“We have a good bunch of younger players,” Wilkie said. “I fully expect that we can repeat as state champs.”