Oct. 3, 2008
The George Mason women's soccer team hits the road this weekend as the Patriots take on Hofstra and Northeastern in a pair of important Colonial Athletic Association matches. The Patriots have shown the ability to beat a tough opponent on the road this year and they'll try to repeat that feat on Friday night at Hofstra and Sunday afternoon at Northeastern.
Hofstra was picked to finish fourth in the CAA this year while the Patriots were predicted to finished sixth. Northeastern was ninth in the preseason Coaches Poll. Last weekend, Mason went to James Madison, which was second in the preseason poll and had a 19-match unbeaten streak and the Patriots came away with a 2-1 victory.
The Pride are the lone 2-0 team in the conference and Hofstra is 5-4-1 overall on the year. The only other unbeaten team is VCU, which is 1-0-1 after having beaten Mason last Sunday, 2-0. The Patriots are one of eight teams that stand 1-1 in the standings after splitting its games last weekend. Northeastern is also 1-1, 5-4-1 overall.
Hofstra has played well of late with a 3-0-1 mark in its past four contests. The Pride won at home over Stony Brook and Delaware and tied CCSU, 3-3. The lone road match was a 1-0 win at Drexel. Hofstra is 3-0-1 at home on the year.
Tiffany Yovino leads the Pride with three goals and seven points. Diane Caldwell has two goals while Marie Curtin, Dana Bergstrom and Jess Crankshaw each have two assists. No other player has more than three points. Krystal Robens has started nine matches in goal with a 5-2-1 mark.
The Huskies are 2-3 in their past five matches having lost at Boston University, Harvard and Delaware while winning at home over Bryant and Drexel. Northeastern is 3-1-1 at home on the season. Only five Huskies have scored this year with Brenna Mathews and Emilee Ellison each putting a ball in the net while Gabbi Jatkola has two goals and two assists. Liza Rebello has four goals and three assists while Veronica Napoli has six goals and two assists. Stephanie Gordon has nine starts in the net with a 4-4-1 record.
After an 0-3 start Mason is 4-3 in its past seven matches. The unquestioned leader on the field this year has been Kelly Keelan, who has been dangerous as a striker while becoming Mason's best option as a goal keeper. She has six goals on the year and is 3-2-0 in net with a pair of 1-0 shutouts. Last week, against the Dukes, she played all 90 minutes in goal and still scored putting in a goal on a free kick from 25 yards out. Jessica Paris has six assists on the year, Kimmy Moss and Annie Lebherz each have two goals and two assists and Patti Benner has a pair of goals. Five other Patriots have goals and six others have assists.
