Sept. 16, 2008

Box Score

Fairfax, Va. - The George Mason women's soccer team put on an offensive show on Tuesday night at George Mason Stadium as the Patriots scored nine goals for the first time in more than 13 years and had its largest margin of victory since a 14-goal win in 1995 as the Patriots beat Howard, 9-1. Entering the night, Mason had six goals on the year but the Patriots outshot Howard 38-4 in the win.

Kelly Keelan had three goals on the night and Annie Lebherz added two for the Patriots (3-4-0). Jessica Paris had a pair of assists and Zania Barnum had four points as the Patriots improved to 3-1-0 at home.

"I'm very happy for our players," said Mason head coach Diane Drake. "The way they attacked the opposition's back line is exactly what we've been looking for. It's a good confidence builder going into Saturday."

The Patriots needed less than three minutes to get on the scoreboard as Theresa DeLucca sent a ball into the box that Keelan redirected in for her third goal of the season. The lead lasted just 10 minutes as Howard (1-7-0) benefited from a Mason own goal when Capricia Alston's clear attempt went in the Mason net. Just as Mason needed less than three minutes to break the 0-0 tie, it needed less than three minutes to break the 1-1 tie. This time, Patti Benner scored on a header off a Jessica Paris corner kick. It was Benner's second goal of the year and Paris' team-high fourth assist.

The game remained 2-1 for more than 15 minutes before another Mason corner. This time, Paris found Moss who crossed to Barnum at the far post and the freshman scored her first career goal. Less than two minutes later, it became a 4-1 game when Alyssa Andersen beat the Howard defender and waited for Lebherz to make her way into the box. It was Andersen's first collegiate point and the first goal of the season for Lebherz.

Lebherz helped make it 5-1 before the half when she found Leslie Cabe in the 37th minute. Cabe was at the near post and she scored her first goal of the year as Lebherz earned her third assist. At the half, Alex Bodenschatz had one save for Mason. She was replaced in net by fellow freshman Melissa Mailley.

The second half was calm for the first eight minutes before Kelly Keelan took a pass from Barnum on the left side and blasted the ball into the back right corner of the net. Keelan picked up a hat trick a little more than five minutes later when Nicole Peters brought the ball up the middle of the field, found Barnum on the wing who played it back to Keelan for a 7-1 lead.

Three minutes later, Lebherz showed off some offensive flair, beating multiple defenders to make it an 8-1 game. The final goal came when Capricia Alston found Katie Gray who scored in the right corner of the net. The last time Mason scored more than eight goals in a match was Sept. 10, 1995 when Mason beat East Carolina, 14-0. That's also the last time Mason won by a margin of eight or more.

The Patriots will return to action on Saturday when they play at Longwood at 4 p.m.