Sept. 30, 2007

Box Score

The George Mason women's soccer team played with a goal advantage for nearly its entire match against Hofstra on Sunday but the Patriots gave up an equalizing goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation and then Hofstra scored the game-winner in the opening minute of overtime as Mason fell to the Pride 2-1 in Colonial Athletic Association action.

Hofstra (8-1-0, 2-0-0) entered the game allowing just 3.6 shots on goal per match. The Patriots nearly matched that in the first half as they took eight shots with three on goal. The first shot on goal gave Mason a 1-0 lead. In the 28th minute, Rachel Wiggins held off a Hofstra defender and calmly passed the ball over the top of the Pride defense to a racing Annie Lebherz. Lebherz beat the defense and got to the ball first, tapping it past a charging Krystal Robens and into the open net.

Mason (5-4-0, 1-1-0) played its typical exceptional defense over the next 50 minutes, allowing just a handful of shots and only two shots on goal. The first save for Mason keeper Kasey Davenport came in the 36th minute when Davenport stopped a header by Erik Fuertes from inside 10 yards. The second save came in the 71st minute when she stopped Jill Lipari's shot from the right wing.

The defense finally cracked in the 81st minute. Jess Crankshaw sent a ball in from the right wing and Larkin Hargraves, settled on the left side inside the box, got her head on the ball and put it in the right side of the net to make it 1-1. Then, in the opening minute of overtime, Kayla Pifer crossed to Brooke DeRosa who was in front of the net to put the ball in and give the Pride a sudden victory.

Mason finished the game with a 16-10 edge in shots and 1 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Patriots fell to 4-2-0 at home. Mason is 1-1-0 at neutral sites and 0-1-0 on the road. The Patriots will be tested next weekend as they travel to UNC Wilmington for a Friday night match and Georgia State for a Sunday afternoon match.