Press Release

Incoming Freshman David Mueller Wins National Championship

ATLANTA –Incoming freshman David Mueller, a member of the Busch Soccer Club in St. Louis, helped the club clinch the 2004 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship on July 25th at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

"It was an amazing feeling," said Mueller, "To be the best team in the country really says a lot. Hopefully I can carry some of our good luck into the college season at Oglethorpe."

Mueller and his teammates from Busch coasted through the Midwest Regional with scores of 4-0,4-1,4-0, and won the regional final 4-1, which advanced them to the final four.

Busch battled through the final four going 1-1-1 through group play. Busch tied the Dallas Texans 1-1, lost to Sereno 86’ White, and then beat the Boston Bolts 3-1 in a must-win situation. Their performance earned them enough points to advance to the championship game, where they again faced Sereno.

This time - with the national title on the line - Busch defeated Sereno by a score of 2-0 to win the championship.

"David has accomplished something very few people have. He is a high caliber player who promises to make an immediate impact on our team and our University," said Oglethorpe Head Coach Jon Akin.

"This is the second year in a row that we have brought in a player who has competed in the National Final Four. Last year, SCAC Freshman of the Year Frank Monteleone played with the Syracuse Blitz Blizzard who lost in the semi-final on penalty kicks to the eventual champions. Annually only 70 players in the nation reach the final four, so Oglethorpe University is very lucky to have received commitments from two of these players in the last two years. Frank had an outstanding season last year and we expect the same thing from David this year."

David and all the incoming and returning players begin their training August 16th in preparation for the 2004 college season.

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