Mason Falls Despite Second-Half Rally
from press release
FAIRFAX, Va. -- Despite outscoring the
California Golden Bears in the second half on Sunday afternoon, the
George Mason women's lacrosse team was unable to overcome a
five-goal deficit at the end of the first 30 minutes of action. The
Patriots lost to Cal by a final score of 15-11 at George Mason
Stadium.
The loss drops Mason's season record to 3-6. It is the Patriots'
fourth loss in the past five matches. California improved its
record to 3-6 with the win.
George Mason took a 3-2 lead with 24:23 left in the first half when
sophomore midfielder Emily Ellisen's free-position shot found the
back of the net. California answered Ellisen's goal with three of
their own before junior attacker Madalyn Jamison ended the scoring
spurt with a free-position goal with 14:57 on the clock. The
three-goal run sparked the Golden Bears, who went on to outscore
the Patriots 8-2 over the final 21:30 of the half to take a 10-5
lead into the intermission.
After the half, Mason answered with back-to-back goals by junior
Callie Hoyt and freshman Allie Hilderbrandt to cut the deficit to
10-7. The Patriots cut the deficit to three on five different
occasions during the half but that was as close as they would get
as the Golden Bears answered with a goal of their own each
time.
George Mason held an advantage in shots taken (27-20), ground balls
(19-17) and draw controls (15-12) but it wasn't enough for the win.
California cleared the ball successfully on 15 of 16 attempts
compared to 10 of 16 for Mason. The Golden Bears and Patriots both
took eight free-position shots but California was more accurate
from the eight meter with seven goals compared to four for
Mason.
Jamison led the team in goals (3), assists (3) and points (6).
Junior Caitlin Hoffen led the defensive unit with four caused
turnovers and five ground balls. Senior Sara Longobucco and
freshman Brittany Pastrana split time in goal but Longobucco played
the bulk of the minutes. The Sea Cliff, N.Y. native finished with a
total of four saves in a little more than 55 minutes of action.
A balanced attack that featured seven players with two goals led
the Golden Bears to the victory. Senior midfielder Alex Tickner had
an outstanding game on both sides of the field with two goals, five
caused turnovers and five ground balls. Junior Allie Shropshire
played all 60 minutes in goal for Cal and finished with eight
saves.
George Mason returns to the field on Friday, April 9 with a 7 p.m.
game at Delaware. The contest will be the Patriots' 2010 CAA
opener.
