Aug. 27, 2006
Box Score
The George Mason women's soccer team showed no signs of fatigue on Sunday and three second-half goals were proof of how fresh the Patriots were as they broke open a 1-1 game to beat Coastal Carolina, 4-1 in the 2006 home opener.
The Patriots had tied Virginia Tech at 1-1 on Friday night and arrived home just 36 hours before their match with the Chanticleers kicked off. But after a 45-minute warm-up session/first half, Mason (1-0-1) was able to pull away from Coastal Carolina (1-1-0), which had won its opener on Friday, 5-1. This time, it was Mason that turned on the offense in the first-ever meeting between the schools as seven different Mason players recorded points. The Patriots improved to 20-5 all-time in home openers.
Mason got on the board first when it scored off a set piece 13:02 into the match. Laura Salichs took the direct kick after a Coastal Carolina foul. The ball was played on goal and was headed out by the Chanticleers. Jessica Paris was there to collect the ball and she found L.J. Williams less than three yards out. Williams turned and put the ball in the goal, scoring for the first time since the 2004 season. Williams earned a medical redshirt in 2005, missing all 19 matches.
It took 20 minutes until Coastal Carolina was able to respond, and it did so in the open field. Leah Hackmann passed the ball off the right corner and found a streaking Blair Monroe who headed the ball in past Mason goal keeper Kasey Davenport. It was Monroe's third goal in two games for the Chanticleers.
Mason was able to retake the lead with 30 minutes to play in the match. Laura Salichs' pass over the top found three unmarked Mason attackers. Sarah Fack was the first to the ball and she put it in net past a diving Jaclyn Stoll. It was Fack's first goal of the year and Salichs' first assist. Six and a half minutes later, Rachel Wiggins scored an unassisted goal to make it 3-1. It was her second goal of the season.
Mason put the game out of reach with less than 17 minutes to play when Leslie Cabe and Annie Lebherz hooked up to record their first collegiate points. Cabe passed the ball over the top to Lebherz who played the ball out of the air and put it in the back of the net.
The Patriots had just three shots on goal against Virginia Tech while the Hokies had 11. At the half on Sunday, they trailed Coastal Carolina in that category, 6-3. But the second half saw Mason earn an 8-0 edge in that department as the Patriots never relented. Davenport finished with five saves in 77 minutes while Kelly Keelan faced no shots in her 13 minutes in net. Coastal Carolina's Ashleigh Gunning and Mason's Fack each earned yellow cards in the second half. Mason is off until Friday when the Patriots will play on the road at Georgetown. That match is set for a 3 p.m. start.
