Oct. 31, 2009
Box Score
The George Mason women's soccer team tied a Colonial Athletic Association record for the best single-season improvement in wins on Saturday afternoon as the Patriots finished the CAA regular season by picking up their 14th win of the year, beating Towson 4-0 at George Mason Stadium on Senior Day. Mason won just five games in 2008 but closed the year with a 14-4-2 record, the most wins by a Patriot team since 1997. The improvement of nine wins ties the CAA record held by three other teams. All four Mason goals and two of its four assists came from seniors.
Despite finishing tied for fourth in the CAA standings, Mason did not qualify for the CAA Tournament. The Patriots and James Madison tied with 20 points but the Dukes won the head-to-head meeting giving them the final spot in the CAA Tournament. The match was the final home game for Mason's nine seniors; Patti Benner, Leslie Cabe, Theresa DeLucca, Jessie Hart, Kelly Keelan, Colleen Killiany, Annie Lebherz, Hannah Sklar and Sasha Vido. Those nine played together on the pitch for the match's final 19 minutes.
"This group of players has changed the culture of our program," said Mason head coach Diane Drake. "Our seniors have led and socialized the underclassmen well. I am so proud of this team. Our future is very bright. It was a fairy tale season for sure."
The first half was scoreless but Mason (6-3-2 in CAA) put four goals on the board in the first 20 minutes of the second half. First Omolyn Davis took the ball from the right wing in the 55th minute and found Theresa DeLucca on the left side. The senior scored by putting the ball in low at the right post. In the 57th minute, Davis found herself in front of the net and her shot hit the crossbar. She found the rebound but her shot was saved, only to be cleared out to Patti Benner just outside the 18. The senior scored by blasting the ball in to the right side.
In the 61st minute, senior Annie Lebherz found DeLucca on a replay of the game's first goal. This time, however, DeLucca took the ball right to the goalie before going low, right. In the 63rd minute, Lebherz found Sasha Vido on the left side and the senior's shot hit the right post before bouncing in on the left side. Katie Frey finished with six saves for Mason while Jocelyn Papciak stopped seven shots for Towson (7-11-2, 3-7-1).
Mason scored more than 50 goals this season, the first time since 1999 and just the ninth time in school history. Mason's 14 goals allowed tie for the second-fewest in team history with the 1985 team that won the National Championship. The 11 shutouts is a mark that has been topped just three times in school history and not since 1994 when Mason went to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and set the school record with just 11 goals allowed.
