Sept. 11, 2009
The George Mason women's soccer team will take the pitch on Friday afternoon looking to rebound from its first loss of the season as the Patriots take on UC Santa Barbara in the Tribe Invitational at William & Mary. The Gauchos and Patriots will play at 4 p.m.
Earlier in the tournament on Wednesday, UC Santa Barbara beat 22nd-ranked William & Mary 2-0. Also taking part in the tournament is Coastal Carolina, which plays William & Mary at 7 p.m. on Friday and then Mason at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
The Patriots opened the season with a 3-0 mark, the first time they won their first three games since the 1993 season. The Patriots beat VMI, 3-0, Mount St. Mary's, 6-0, and Howard, 4-0. Last Friday, Mason lost to Penn on the road, 3-1. Mason played its last match without Omolyn Davis, who had scored in the first three games. She was injured against Howard and sat out the contest. She will be back on the pitch tonight
Kelly Keelan has two goals and two assists on the year while Tiana Kallenberger has two goals and one assist. Six other players have goals and seven others have assists. Katie Frey is 2-1 in the net for Mason having made four saves on seven shots. She has one shutout and she also combined on another shutout. Melissa Mailley is 1-0 and she and Alex Bodenschatz have combined on shutouts as well.
The Gauchos were selected to win the Big West in the preseason poll of coaches. They went to the NCAA Tournament last year after winning the Big West Tournament. This year they are 2-3-1 with goals in three of their six games. They scored in a 1-0 win over Nevada, a 1-1 tie with Michigan State and two in the aforementioned win over the Tribe. No player has more than one goal. No player has more than one assist, either. Ali Cutler has played four matches in goal stopping 17 of 23 shots while Tammy Lenham has stopped five of six shots.
Coastal Carolina has lost four straight heading into the tournament. They beat Jacksonville 2-1 then lost to North Florida, 4-0, Appalachian State, 1-0, Longwood, 2-1 and Richmond, 3-0. Dana Gentile, Samantha Teijelo and Tori Strengari each have had goals while Sara Niles has the lone assist. Amy Haggard has stopped seven of 12 shots while Karen Pavlick has stopped 11 of 17 shots.
Live stats for Mason's matches this weekend can be found on the William & Mary athletics web site or by clicking here.
