Oct. 26, 2007
The George Mason women's soccer team plays its final road match of the 2007 regular season on Friday and the Patriots then return home to conclude the year with a two-game homestand beginning on Sunday as Mason plays at VCU on Friday at 7 p.m. and hosts James Madison on Sunday at 3 p.m.
The Patriots are 7-8-0 on the year, 3-5-0 in Colonial Athletic Association action. Mason has not lost three-straight games all season and the Patriots will need a win on Friday to avoid such a stretch. The Patriots haven't played three straight road games all year but they'll be playing their third in a row at VCU, where they haven't won since 2001. Mason did beat VCU in their last meeting, 2-1 in overtime at George Mason Stadium
The Rams are 8-7-1 overall, 5-3 in the CAA. Both Mason and VCU have lost to William & Mary, Old Dominion and Hofstra while beating Drexel, Georgia State and Northeastern. The difference has been VCU wins over UNCW and Delaware, teams that beat Mason by one goal.
The Rams have been led by a duo of five-goal scorers. June Hartman has give goals and two assists while Jasmine Riley has five goals. Stephanie Power has three goals, Myruam Bouchard has two goals and two assists and Megan Flanagan and Laurel Pastor each have a goal. Those six players have accounted for all of the VCU scoring as the Rams are averaging 1.03 goals per game.
Emily Niman has played every minute in net for VCU and she has allowed an identical 1.03 goals per game. The Rams have nine shutouts on the year while having been shutout seven times. There has not been a single game all year in which VCU has allowed a goal and won and only one contest in which both teams scored, a 2-1 VCU loss at home to ODU.
James Madison, Sunday's opponent, was ranked earlier this season. The Dukes are 13-2-1, 6-1-1 on the year. In getting off to its best start in school history, James Madison opened the year 13-1-1 with a loss at nationally-ranked Penn State and a tie at Drexel. The Dukes are coming off a surprising 1-0 loss at Northeastern.
James Madison has had balanced scoring this year with nine players finding the back of the net. Cate Tisinger has been dominant with eight goals and eight assists. Annie Lowry has seven goals and four assists and Teresa Rynier has three goals and eight assists.
Three players have started in net for James Madison and they've combined to allow just 10 goals on 65 shots. The Dukes have eight shutouts while being shutout just twice, in both losses. Missy Reimert started 10 games in net with an 8-1-1 record but Stephanie Poucher has started the past four contests and gone the distance in each compiling a 3-1-1 record. The two teams tied in their encounter last season, 0-0 in Harrisonburg.
Mason has been led this year by Annie Lebherz, who has four goals and an assist, L.J. Williams, who has three goals and three assists, and Rachel Wiggins, who has three goals and two assists. Kelly Keelan also has three goals and an assist while Jessica Paris has two goals.
Kasey Davenport has played every minute in goal for Mason with 17 goals allowed, a 1.13 goals-against average. She has stopped 44 of 61 shots and recorded five shutouts.
