July 14, 2004

LONDON - George Mason's women's lacrosse team gave new meaning to the term "playing on the road" as the Patriots opened their European Lacrosse Tour with a three-game sweep of teams from Great Britain Friday and Saturday (July 10-11) in London, England. Playing at the Richmond Athletic Grounds in Richmond (England), Mason stymied the England European Lacrosse C team, 11-1, outlasted the Wales A squad, 9-7 and bested the Wales B team 10-5.

Following a 1-1 tie five minutes into the contest, George Mason rattled off 10 unanswered goals in the rout of the England European C team Saturday. Among the scorers, senior Tracy Waterson led the way with four goals and senior Kristy Manas chipped in with two scores and an assist. Lisa Hagan (2001-04) and Stacy Berger (2001-04) each netted one goal and one assist. Junior Robyn Yeatman tallied one goal and one assist as did sophomore teammate Becky Lee, while junior Jen Thomas had an assist and sophomore Deona Donahue registered a goal. Sophomore Melissa Curry led the defense with seven caused turnovers and five ground balls. Senior goalkeeper Meg Dentler recorded 10 saves and five ground balls. The score at halftime was 6-1.

Sunday afternoon proved to be a long one for the Patriots, who were slated to play a doubleheader. The Wales A team came prepared and fought hard before dropping the 9-7 decision. Mason took a 3-0 lead 20 minutes into the contest, but Wales A battled back to even the score 3-all over the next five minutes. The two teams headed into halftime tied 4-4. In the second frame, George Mason took a quick two goal lead and extended the advantage to three goals, 9-6, with under 10 minutes remaining and held off Wales for the 9-7 final. Sophomore Melissa Venturi and senior Jeannine Ohler each recorded a pair of goals. Senior Brandi Evans posted one ground ball and a caused turnover and junior Michele Brady tallied two ground balls. Dentler stopped 12 shots in the contest.

Later that afternoon, the Patriots took care of the Wales B squad, 10-5, in their final match of the weekend. Wales B struck first early, putting Mason behind in a match for the first time in England, and led again by a 2-1 margin five minutes into the frame. The Patriots tied the game two minutes later and went on to take a 6-3 halftime advantage, outscoring Wales B 4-1 over the final 18 minutes of the half. Despite their weary and tired legs, the Patriots continued to build on their lead in the second stanza en route to the 10-5 victory. Junior Sarah Bryant netted one goal and one assist as did redshirt freshman Alex Velesz. Kristen Olson (2000-04) posted an assist. Senior Amanda Thornburg notched one ground ball and a caused turnover and sophomore Jess Shelton registered three ground balls. Dentler finished with six saves.

George Mason continues its European Tour in Prague as it participates in the Prague Cup tournament Wednesday through Saturday (July 14-17). Mason will face three teams in the tournament, beginning with the Czech Republic B squad Wednesday. The Patriots battle Czech Republic A Thursday and conclude the tournament Saturday afternoon versus the United Kingdom team.

Box Scores
George Mason-              6-5=11
England European C Team-   1-0=1


George Mason-              4-5=9
Wales A-                   4-3=7


George Mason-              6-4=10
Wales B-                   3-2=5