Nov. 1, 2007
Box Score
The George Mason women's soccer team needed a win on Senior Night to keep its hopes for making the Colonial Athletic Tournament alive and the seniors stepped up to the challenge with a big assist from the underclassmen as the Patriots downed Towson 3-0 at George Mason Stadium.
The Patriots got good news just before the match when they found out that Georgia State failed to win its match at UNC Wilmington. That left the door open for Mason, which need a victory and a William & Mary win or tie against Old Dominion to earn the final spot in the CAA Tournament. The Patriots took care of business in the first eight minutes and about an hour after the match, so did William & Mary. Mason clinched a spot in the CAA Tournament and will play at James Madison on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The first goal came three minutes into the match. Sophomore Kelly Keelan, the reigning CAA Player of the Week passed the ball to senior Rachel Wiggins into the box. Wiggins took a shot which was blocked, but she collected the rebound and scored her fourth goal of the season. It was the 21st goal of Wiggins career and the 58th point. Both totals put her among the all-time top 10 at Mason.
A little more than four minutes later, the Patriots (8-9-1, 4-6-1) made it 2-0 scoring off a corner kick. Keelan took the shot from the right corner and she found senior Laura Salichs' head at the near post. Salichs put the ball in for her first goal of the season and the fourth of her career.
In the 22nd minute, Mason iced the game as Keelan played a beautiful ball over the top to junior Jessica Paris who dribbled 30 yards before beating the goalkeeper 1v1 for her third goal of the year. Towson (9-8-1, 3-7-1) , playing for the third time in five games, struggled to mount a counter, not managing a shot until more than 35 minutes into the game.
Mason nearly made it 4-0 in the 65th minute when Keelan's direct kick from 25 yards hit the crossbar. Keelan, who scored twice last week on direct kicks, had another chance five minutes later from 30 yards out, but she knocked the ball high. The Patriots finished with a 25-5 edge in shots and a 15-2 advantage in shots on goal.
Mason will await a final from Norfolk where the Monarchs (7-7-2, 3-6-1) were hosting the Tribe (13-4-1, 8-1-1) beginning at 7 p.m. Should Old Dominion win, Mason will find its season over.
