March 10, 2005

Box Score

WASHINGTON - Freshman attacker Christina Frank (Forest Hill, Md.) scored four goals and senior goalkeeper Meg Dentler (Crofton, Md.) stopped 17 shots in leading George Mason to an 8-6 victory over host George Washington Thursday afternoon at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex. Mason, which scored four of the game's last five goals, earns its first victory of the season and improves to 1-2, while GW suffers its first loss and drops to 1-1.

With GW ahead 5-4, Frank netted three consecutive markers, including the game-tying, go-ahead and eventual game-winning scores, to give the Patriots a 7-5 lead with 12:15 to play in the game. Senior attack player Heidi Mayer found the back of the cage at 50:06 to pull GW within one, but Patriot freshman midfielder Alex Velesz (Woodbridge, Va./Paul VI) sealed the game with her first collegiate goal off a free-position at 52:45.

Senior attack Tracy Waterson (Niskayuna, N.Y.) added two goals, while junior midfielder Sarah Bryant (Fairfax Station, Va.) recorded one goal, 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers and 2 draw controls in reserve for the Patriots.

Mayer and classmate Jamie Lee led the Colonials with two goals each, while sophomore Laura Hostetler, the team's leading scorer, was held to two assists by Mason's defensive unit of freshman Megan Bartlett (Voorhees, N.J.), sophomore Katie Linnertz (Syracuse, N.Y.), junior Michele Brady (Fairfax, Va.) and senior Amanda Thornburg (Springfield, Va.).

The Patriots grabbed a 2-0 advantage at the 13:08 mark on scores by Waterson and Frank. The Colonials rallied with three straight goals to take a one-goal edge at 22:57, before Bryant's tally at 27:24 tied the game at three heading into halftime.

Waterson opened the second stanza with an assisted goal at 31:35, but consecutive scores by junior Colleen Schmidt and Mayer, off a feed from Hostetler, gave the Colonials the lead before Mason's game-clinching scoring spree.

Dentler faced 33 GW shots in recording 17 saves and limited George Washington to an 18.2 shooting percentage. Colonial sophomore Emily Fortunato started the game in goal and made four saves in 31:35 before being replaced by Caitlin Garman, who allowed four goals with one save in 28:25.

The Colonials outshot the Patriots, 33-17, and held the edge in draw controls, 9- 7.

GW is 0-4 all-time against Mason.

George Mason returns home for three consecutive matches against top-20 opponents, beginning with a 7 p.m. Wednesday night clash versus national powerhouse Maryland at George Mason Stadium.

Scoring Summary
George Mason: Frank (4-0), Waterson (2-0), Bryant (1-0), Velesz (1-0), Ohler (0- 1)

George Washington: Lee (2-0), Mayer (2-0), Hostetler (0-2), McDonough (1-0), Schmidt (1-0), Heisler (0-1), Gannon (0-1)

Shots: GW 33, Mason 17
Ground balls: GW 27, Mason 22
Draw Controls: GW 9, Mason 7
Saves: GW - Fortunato 4 (31:35), Garman 1 (28:25); Mason - Dentler 17 (60:00)