Sept. 4, 2009

Box Score

Philadelphia, Pa. - The George Mason women's soccer team suffered its first loss of the 2009 season on Friday night when the Patriots traveled to Philadelphia and came away with a 3-1 loss at the hands of Penn. Mason surrendered two first half goals and after trimming the lead to 2-1, the Quakers responded and held on over the final 30 minutes.

Mason (3-1) had opened the year with wins in its first three games for the first time since 1993. The Quakers (1-0) were playing their season opener.

In the 15th minute, Michelle Drugan scored off an assist from Theresa Yankovich. The ball was played into the goal area and Drugan beat Mason goalie Katie Frey to the ball. In the 26th minute, Jessica Fuccello took a Yankovich cross from the left side and headed the ball into the near corner of the net.

Mason got its goal in the 54th minute when Theresa DeLucca scored on a rebound in front of the net. But less than five minutes later, Kaitlin Campbell sent in a cross from the right side and Marin McDermott headed the ball in to once again make it a two-goal game.

Frey finished with just one save on four shots, falling to 2-1 on the year. Carolina Williams made two saves on the three shots she saved. The teams combined for just 16 shots and just seven shots on goal as the contest was mostly a defensive struggle. The Patriots were playing without Omolyn Davis who had scored in every game this season. The redshirt junior sat out after suffering an injury against Howard.

"We didn't show and up compete in the first 30 minutes against a very talented Penn team," said Mason head coach Diane Drake. "We were very, very good in the second half and just needed to finish out chances. Some players really stepped it up and came alive tonight. We will be extremely competitive if we fight like we did in the second half. We were a threat to score at any time."

Mason will have a week off before retaking the pitch on Friday when the Patriots play in a tournament at William & Mary. Mason will take on UC Santa Barbara at 4 p.m.