March 5, 2008

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - An explosive second-half offensive attack turned a close game into a blowout as the fifteenth-ranked George Mason women's lacrosse team scored 12 goals in the final 30 minutes of play to turn a 7-5 halftime lead into a 19-11 victory over regional rival George Washington on Wednesday evening at George Mason Stadium. Junior attacker Brittany Berger played the best game of her career to this point, setting career highs with six goals scored and seven points.

With the win, the Patriots improved to 3-1 on the season, while the Colonials remain winless after the loss with an 0-4 mark. Mason improves to a perfect 7-0 in the all-time series with George Washington, which began during the 2002 season.

The offensive output was historic for George Mason, as the Patriots have scored 19 or more goals only six times in the 15-year history of the women's lacrosse program. Mason ended the game only four goals shy of the school record of 23, set in a 23-11 victory over Old Dominion on April 9, 2006 at George Mason Stadium.

In the first half, the two teams appeared to be headed for a close contest after the Colonials took a 5-4 lead on senior Laura Wunk's first goal of the game with 13:03 remaining in the half. After falling behind, the Patriots scored the next three goals, including two by Berger, to head into the break with a 7-5 lead.

After the break, Mason took control of the game and turned a close contest into a rout, scoring the first 11 goals of the second half while the defense held GW without a goal during the first 24:14 of the second half. The Patriots scored 14 unanswered goals including the 3-0 run during the final nine minutes of the first half.

With the game out of reach with Mason holding an 18-5 lead with 7:24 remaining, the Colonials scored six of the final seven goals to make the final score somewhat respectable at 19-11. Seniors Kristin Karcsh, Katelyn Honeyford and Wunk all netted three goals for GW.

George Mason outplayed George Washington in every statistical category, excluding saves. After taking 21 shots in the first half to score seven goals, the Patriots' attack was extremely efficient in the final 30 minutes of play, scoring 12 goals on only 15 shots.

Four players found the back of the net three or more times for Mason. Berger led the way with six, followed by senior Laura King with four, while sophomore Megan Udovich and senior Megan Bartlett both finished with three each. On the defensive end, senior Alex Velesz led the team with four caused turnovers, a career high. Junior Maggie Bridges scooped up a game-high six ground balls.

The Patriots hit the road for their next two games, playing at Iona on March 13 and at No. 17 Boston University on March 15.