Feb. 9, 2005
FAIRFAX, Va. -- Two more year-end awards were bestowed upon players from the 2004 George Mason women's soccer team. Internet magazine Soccer Buzz selected Patriot senior Allison Cowan (Shorewood, Minn.) and freshman Jessica Paris (Clifton, Va.) as honorees on its Mid-Atlantic all-Region teams, the e-zine recently announced. Cowan was named to the Mid-Atlantic all-Region third team, while Paris garnered Mid-Atlantic all-Freshman team honors.
Soccer Buzz, established in 1996, is a Web site devoted to the promotion of women's college soccer.
Cowan receives Soccer Buzz accolades for the first time in her career. A second-team all-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) selection as a defender and a member of the 2004 CAA all-tournament team, the stalwart co-captain started 16 of 16 games played at midfield and defense, registering two goals and an assist. She helped anchor a defense that recorded six total shut outs and four shut outs against conference opponents.
Paris, a member of the CAAs 2004 all-Rookie team and a first-team all-Virginia selection from the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID), also earns her first-ever Soccer Buzz honor. She was one of two players to start every game for Mason and finished third on the team in goals scored with four and had two assists, ranking fourth on the squad with 10 points.
A defender, Paris helped anchor a defense that recorded six total shut outs and four shut outs against conference opponents. Her game-winning goal in Mason's 3-2 come-from-behind regular season home win over Va. Commonwealth kept the Patriots' alive in the CAA playoff race.
George Mason played solidly all season for new head coach Diane Drake. After starting the year 2-4-1, the Patriots rebounded to go 8-3-2 down the stretch, winning at least 10 regular season games for the first time since 2000 and posting four wins a row for the first time since 1998.
The fifth-seeded Patriots fell to No. 4 seed James Madison 1-0 Tuesday in the first round of CAA Women's Soccer Tournament. Mason also registered a 2-0-3 overtime record in 2004, extending its unbeaten overtime streak to 17 games (Mason is 8-0-9 in OT games since Oct. 19, 2001).
