April 16, 2004
FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason enters into an important weekend of Colonial Athletic Association women's lacrosse action as the Patriots host Drexel Friday evening at 7 p.m. and welcomes Hofstra at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
Mason heads into its two matches with an overall record of 4-6 and a 2-2 league mark. The Dragons picked up their first CAA victory in 18 tries last week when they defeated Old Dominion to improve to 8-3 on the season and 1-2 in the conference. The Pride is tied with Mason at 2-2 in the CAA and owns a 6-5 overall record. Hofstra is at league leading James Madison Friday before visiting GMU Stadium Sunday.
The top four teams in the CAA earn bids to the conference tournament. The Patriots have never been one of the outside teams looking in as Mason has made 10 straight appearances since the program's inception in 1994. Ranked 19th nationally in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and Warrior/InsideLacrosse.com polls, Mason is once again in position for another run at the league's postseason event. The Patriots, who need at least two wins in their final three CAA games to be in position for a postseason berth, are hoping to take care of business this weekend in order to earn one of those four slots.
"We have two great opponents this weekend in Drexel and Hofstra," stated head coach Amy Umbach. "Our conference has been really strong this year with four teams ranked in the top 20 for most of the season, including George Mason. This team understands the importance of these two games, and the impact they will have on possibly gaining one of the four spots in the conference tournament. Having these games on our home field is equally exciting. Hopefully, we'll have a lot of fan support from the community and the students."
Sunday's contest against Hofstra has been designated as "Senior Day" as the Patriots will honor their three seniors, midfielder Lisa Hagan (Collingswood, NJ), defensive midfielder Stacy Berger (Baltimore, MD), and midfielder Kristen Olson (Aurora, CO) prior to the game.
