Oct. 20, 2006

Box Score

Last weekend, the George Mason women's soccer team faced the first and third place teams in the Colonial Athletic Association and showed that they could play with the conference's top squads. On Friday night, in their final home match of the 2006 season, the Patriots showed they could beat one of the CAA's elite as Mason got clutch goals from Rachel Wiggins and Kelly Keelan and outstanding play in net from senior Olivia Brown, taking a 2-1 overtime win over second-place Virginia Commonwealth in front of 580 fans at George Mason Stadium.

Midway through the second overtime, Wiggins played a through ball in traffic to Keelan and the freshman perfectly placed the ball in the right corner of the net, beating Lauren Hardison for the 2-1 victory. The win kept Mason very much alive in the hunt for the CAA Tournament, in which six of the league's 12 teams compete. Mason entered the night in a tie for seventh and the Patriots will be no worse than one point out of sixth when they take on James Madison on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Dukes currently hold that sixth spot, meaning a win on Sunday could put the Patriots in position to compete in the postseason.

For much of the evening, it looked like Mason might not have much to play for on Sunday as the Rams scored early. Megan Flanagan took a cross on the right side from Laure Dupont in the ninth minute and Flanagan converted for a 1-0 lead. The Rams had a few other scoring chances in the half but Brown made five saves in the first 45 minutes to keep VCU from building on its lead.

Mason (7-9-1, 4-5-0) had several terrific scoring opportunities in the first half. In the 10th minute Leslie Cabe's shot from 8 yards out was high. The Patriots had another stellar chance in the 31st minute but Keelan's rocket hit the right post and there wasn't a Patriot in position to collect the rebound. In the 45th minute, Christine Arkwright had a good look from 10 yards but Hardison was there to make a diving save.

The Rams (11-4-2, 7-2-0) had a good chance to add to their lead early in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Flanagan crossed the ball from the right side to a streaking Stephanie Power, but Brown was there to break up the play before Power could get a shot off.

Mason's first scoring chance in the second half came in the 57th minute. Rachel Wiggins took a shot that was blocked. Leslie Cabe grabbed the rebound and passed it to Sarah Fack who was all alone just 9 yards out but the flag went up signaling offsides and denying Mason the opportunity.

Mason's equalizing goal came in the 79th minute. L.J. Williams was fouled hard in the penalty box giving Mason a penalty kick. Wiggins took the shot and she put the ball in high on the left side for the equalizer. VCU had a chance to claim victory in the 89th minute but Flanagan's breakaway chance was brought in by Brown. Mason had a breakaway of its own in the final minute by Keelan's shot was wide right.

Mason had an outstanding opportunity to end the match earlier in the second overtime period. Wiggins took a feed from Williams with Hardison out of the net. But a VCU player blocked the shot and the Rams were the first to the rebound. Hardison made an excellent save of a Keelan shot seconds later, temporarily denying Mason the victory.

Brown finished with eight saves for the Patriots while Hardison had four saves for the Rams.