Oct. 31, 2002

Fairfax, VA ... George Mason scored twice in the first half, then held off Virginia Commonwealth's offensive barrage in the second half to defeat the Rams, 2-1, Thursday afternoon in a Colonial Athletic Association women's soccer game at the George Mason Stadium complex.

George Mason won its fifth straight CAA game and for the fifth time in its last seven games overall to improve to 8-10, 6-2 in the CAA. Virginia Commonwealth fell for the fourth time in its last five games to drop to 12-5-1 overall, 5-3-1 in the CAA.

With the win, the Patriots moved into second place and assured themselves of finishing no lower than third in the final CAA standings. A victory or a tie for George Mason Saturday at Old Dominion (7 p.m.) would clinch second place and a first-round bye in the upcoming CAA Tournament.

Freshman Amy Alecci got Mason on the scoreboard at 7:08 as she gathered a misplayed clear by a VCU defender and sent a 10-yard shot inside the left post for her third goal of the season. Alecci later sent a cross from the left side to sophomore Sarah Wilkinson, who sent a 12-yard shot inside the right post for her fourth goal of the year at 42:10 to give the Patriots a 2-0 lead at halftime.

Taking a more defensive posture in the second half, George Mason saw VCU hold an 11-2 advantage in shots over the final 45 minutes (21-7 for the game). The Rams finally broke through at 87:31 as junior Leah Robinson sent a 25-yard free kick into the upper-left corner of the net for her ninth goal of the season, but the Patriots held off VCU over the final two minutes to preserve the victory.

Senior goalkeeper Naomi Hines made six saves as she started the game and played the first half, keeping her unscored upon in 315 minutes against CAA foes this season, while sophomore Sarah Coughlin had five saves in the second half. Junior Chrissy Lloyd had four saves for VCU.