March 13, 2008

Box Score

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - No. 17 George Mason hit the road on Thursday and picked up its first victory away from George Mason Stadium this season, downing the Iona College Gaels by a final score of 15-5 in New Rochelle, N.Y. With the win, the Patriots improve to 4-1 overall, while the Gaels fall to 0-5 following the loss.

Mason's offense was unstoppable throughout the game, taking 45 shots to 17 for Iona College. The Patriots took the early lead, scoring the first four goals before Iona recorded its first tally of the game on Katie Cavanaugh's free-position goal with 17:06 remaining in the opening half. After the goal, Mason went on another scoring streak, scoring five unanswered goals to close the first 30 minutes of play with a commanding 9-1 lead.

Following the break, Iona scored first, cutting the lead to seven with a goal by Kasey Hughes 1:33 into the half. However, Mason quickly followed that with goals by freshman Chelsea Gamble and senior Alex Velesz to extend the lead to 11-2 and take away any momentum Iona College had gained with Hughes' goal. In the final five minutes of the win, freshman attacker Caroline Hoyt tallied the first two goals of her college career. She also dished out two assists in the game.

Junior attacker Brittany Berger paced the Patriots with three goals and six ground balls. Gamble also recorded a hat trick with three goals and two draw controls in the game. Freshman attacker Madalyn Jamison had a team-high three caused turnovers for a Patriot team that recorded 13 in the game.

Hughes led the Gaels with two goals and an assist for three points. Goalkeeper Colleen Magri recorded 20 saves, including 11 in the second half.

George Mason returns to action on Saturday, taking on No. 18 Boston University in Boston, Mass. First draw is scheduled for noon.