April 3, 2005
Box Score
FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason freshman attacker Christina Frank (Forest Hill, Md.) led all scorers with four goals and one assist as the host Patriots topped No. 20 William & Mary 12-7 in Colonial Athletic Association women's lacrosse action Sunday afternoon at George Mason Stadium.
Mason, which wins its second straight contest and is victorious for the first time in five tries at home this season, improves to 2-0 in the CAA for the first time since 2002 and is 3-6 overall. The College remains winless on the road (0-5) and drops to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in league play.
"I'm very pleased with our team's effort today," said George Mason head coach Amy Umbach. "We played a tough schedule early on and managed to put ourselves in position to win some of those games. Unfortunately, we didn't. But, playing such a high level of lacrosse against non-conference opponents, I think, has prepared us well for the conference race. To be 2-0 in the league is great and now we must continue to build on that."
Junior attacker Sarah Bryant (Fairfax Station, Va.) totaled three goals and an assist for George Mason. Patriot senior attack Kristy Manas (Harwood, Md.) posted a score and a game-high three assists. Tribe midfielder Morgan Watkins finished with team-highs in goals (2) and assists (2). Midfielder Emily Vitrano also chipped in two markers.
George Mason took a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes and never trailed. Frank opened the scoring with a free position score at 26:38 and assisted on Tracy Waterson's (Sr., A, Niskayuna, N.Y.) tally a minute later. Tribe attacker Laura Nolan took a feed from Watkins at 19:28 to trim the margin to 2-1. That's as close as William & Mary would get as Bryant started a three-goal spree that pushed Mason's advantage to 5-1 at the 16:34 mark. Each time William & Mary scored two goals, Mason answered with two scores of its own to maintain a two-goal edge.
Leading 7-5 following a marker from the Tribe's Morgan Lang at 2:51, Mason won the draw and set up its offense. With 49 seconds remaining in the half, Manas found senior midfielder Brandi Evans (Fort Howard, Md.) for a goal to stake an 8-5 advantage. The Patriots controlled the final draw and freshman midfielder Alex Velesz (Woodbridge, Va.) tossed in a score with one second on the clock to give Mason a 9-5 lead at halftime.
George Mason led by four or more goals in the second period. The Tribe cut the deficit to 9-6 early in the stanza, but Bryant scored two markers during a three-goal Patriot run that put Mason ahead 12-6 with 5:57 left.
Defensively, sophomores Melissa Curry (Edgewater, Md.) and Katie Linnertz (Syracuse, N.Y.), junior Michele Brady (Fairfax, Va.) and senior Amanda Thornburg (Springfield, Va.) held William & Mary to only two goals in the second half. The quartet shut down the Tribe's leading scorer, Colleen Dalon, who entered the game with 26 goals and 15 assists for 41 points, and held her to only one assist.
Senior All-American goalkeeper Meg Dentler (Crofton, Md.) stopped 15 of the College's 34 shots in allowing seven goals. Tribe goalkeeper Amanda Roth posted five saves and allowed 12 goals. Mason led the draw control battle 12-9. William & Mary out shot George Mason 34-26.
George Mason continues CAA play this week, hosting Towson Friday at 7 p.m. and Delaware Sunday at 12 noon.
Line Score
George Mason (3-6, 2-0 CAA) - 9-3=12
No. 20 William & Mary (4-6, 1-1 CAA) - 5-2=7
Goals-Assists--GM: Christina Frank 4-1,
Sarah Bryant 3-1,
Kristy Manas 1-3,
Tracy Waterson 1-0,
Alex Velesz 1-0,
Brandi Evans 1-0,
Laura King 1-0;
WM: Morgan Watkins 2-2, Emily Vitrano 2-0, Morgan Lang 1-0, Jamie Fitzgerald 1-0, Laura Nolan 1-0, Colleen Dalon 0-1.
Goalkeepers (svs-GA-min)--GM: Meg Dentler 15-7-60;
WM: Amanda Roth 5-12-60.
Team Shots GB CT TO FPS Fouls DC
William & Mary 34 23 10 12 1-4 18 9
George Mason 26 27 12 14 2-5 13 12
SCORING SUMMARY
NO. 20 WILLIAM & MARY AT GEORGE MASON
GEORGE MASON STADIUM, FAIRFAX, VA, APRIL 3, 2005
FIRST HALF (H-V)
26:38 GM Christina Frank (FP) 1-0
25:37 GM Tracy Waterson (Christina Frank) 2-0
19:28 WM Laura Nolan (Morgan Watkins) 2-1
18:37 GM Sarah Bryant 3-1
17:36 GM Frank (Kristy Manas) 4-1
16:34 GM Kristy Manas 5-1
14:27 WM Emily Vitrano (Colleen Dalon) 5-2
13:37 WM Vitrano 5-3
12:26 GM Frank 6-3
11:00 GM Frank 7-3
3:55 WM Morgan Watkins (FP) 7-4
2:51 WM Morgan Lang (Watkins) 7-5
0:49 GM Brandi Evans (Manas) 8-5
0:01 GM Alex Velesz 9-5
SECOND HALF (H-V)
27:35 WM Morgan Watkins 9-6
18:58 GM Laura King (Sarah Bryant) 10-6
10:54 GM Sarah Bryant (FP) 11-6
5:57 GM Sarah Bryant (Kristy Manas) 12-6
1:13 WM Jamie Fitzgerald 12-7
