December 2004

GW’s Amazing Grace

Colonials Advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

The Colonials men’s soccer team’s amazing 10-game winning streak came to a halt as GW fell to the 16th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), 2–0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Sports Backers Stadium Nov. 23.

The Colonials’ second round NCAA Tournament game against VCU was the furthest they have advanced since 1989. It came on the heels of an improbable string of victories beginning with a 3–1 win over St. Bonaventure, eventually tying the school record set in 1977 (10–0) and equaled in 1990 (8–0–2).

Heading into the Oct. 17 contest the Colonials owned just one win, against Howard University, was 0–3–2 in Atlantic 10 Conference play and seemed destined to watch from the sidelines as the University hosted the A-10 Tournament from the Mount Vernon Campus. Instead the team knocked off conference foes one-by-one until it earned a fourth seed in the tournament.

“It’s been an amazing run,” GW head coach George Lidster said after his team earned its second conference crown in the past three years. “At one stage we were 1–8–3 and we had some injuries and we were struggling to find our rhythm, but one thing about this group, they never gave up and when you are 1–8–3, sometimes that is a problem. We hung together and we came to together … and the rest is history.”

In the second round NCAA match, GW fell behind 2–0 a little over 12 minutes into the second half after sophomore goal keeper Derek Biss collided with a VCU player and was knocked unconscious.

Without Biss able to defend the Colonials’ goal, freshman goalkeeper Greg Yahr came into the game and made two big saves for the GW, but VCU capitalized on a second chance and scored on a deflected shot.

GW advanced to the second round of the NCAA championship with a 1–0 shutout of North Carolina (10–9–2) Nov. 19. The win marked the sixth shutout for GW in its last seven matches, one shy of the team record of eight set in 1977 and equaled in 1990 and 1991. It was also the 150th career win for GW head coach George Lidster, who now has a 150–135–38 overall mark in 17 seasons at the helm of the GW program.

GW earned a place in the tournament through wins over Rhode Island, Duquesne and third-seeded Temple, 2–0, to win the A-10 Tournament and receive the conference’s automatic bid.

For his role helping the Colonials to the conference title, Biss was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.

Biss tied the A-10 Championship record with two shutouts. He was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and was also picked to the All-Championship Team.

Biss leads GW with 65 saves and owns a 1.05 goals-against average in 19 starts.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu