April 13, 2008

Box Score

NEWARK, Del. - No. 12 George Mason scored the final six goals of the game to turn a 10-9 second-half deficit into a 15-10 win over the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens in Colonial Athletic Association women's lacrosse action on Sunday afternoon at Rullo Stadium in Newark, Del. It is the second straight come-from-behind victory for the Patriots, who erased a four-goal deficit in their last game against Towson.

Mason has rebounded from its loss to William and Mary on April 6 with back-to-back wins against conference opponents on the road. With today's win, the Patriots improve to 10-2 overall and 3-1 in the CAA. It is the first time in school history that Mason has ever started the season with a 10-2 record. The win also snaps a two-game losing streak to Delaware, which falls to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the CAA.

With the score tied at three in the first half, the Patriots went on a 4-0 spurt to take a 7-3 lead with 11:04 remaining in the half. Senior attacker Laura King scored her first goal of the game to cap the run.

After King's goal, the Fightin' Blue Hens' defense held the high-powered Patriot attack in check for the remainder of the half. Meanwhile, Delaware scored five unanswered goals, including two off of free-position shots by Debbie Sloan, to head into the half with an 8-7 advantage.

After the break, the two sides took turns scoring the first four goals of the second half. The Fightin' Blue Hens took a 10-9 lead after Casey McCrudden's shot found the back of the net with 17:16 left in the game. It turned out to be the final score for Delaware as the Patriot defense held the Fightin' Blue Hens in check the rest of the way.

Sophomore attacker Megan Udovich fired a shot past Delaware goalkeeper Jessica Cerveny with 16:26 remaining to tie the score at 10 and jumpstart the Patriot attack. After Udovich's goal, King took the game over, scoring three goals in a span of five minutes to give Mason the lead for good. George Mason added two more goals to close the game with a 6-0 run over the final 16:26.

King and junior attacker Brittany Berger both scored four goals in the game to lead all scorers. King also added two ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers. Senior midfielder Megan Bartlett added two goals, four ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers.

Both Emily Schaknowski and Courtney Aburn scored three goals for Delaware. Schaknowski added two assists, two ground balls, three draw controls and a caused turnover in the losing effort.

George Mason returns to action on Wednesday, April 16 with a game against No. 4 Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. First draw is slated for 7 p.m. at Klockner Stadium.