Sept. 17, 2010

Box Score

College Park, Md. - The George Mason women's soccer team spent more than two-thirds of regulation leading No. 7 Maryland on Friday evening but the Terrpins scored with a little more than 10 minutes to go in regulation, then added a goal in the opening minutes of overtime to end Mason's upset bid, defeating the Patriots, 2-1.

Omolyn Davis scored on a free kick in the 11th minute and her goal stood as the lone one in the match until the 80th minute when Jasmyne Spencer's shot was stopped by a sliding Alex Bodenschatz but the junior goalkeeper was unable to hold on to the ball and Spencer put her own rebound in to make it 1-1. In the 94th minute, Colleen Deegan served a long ball over the Mason defense and Spencer got to it and tipped it into the right side of the goal for the game-winner. Mason fell to 4-3-1 while Maryland stayed unbeaten and untied at 8-0-0.

"I could not be more proud of this team than I am now," said Mason head coach Diane Drake. "We found what it will take to compete for the CAA Championship. We rose to the occasion and played a fantastic ACC opponent. I give lots of credit to Alex Bodenschatz in the net and our overall team defense in the second half and overtime."

Bodenschatz made nine saves in the match including five in the second half and overtime. The Patriots came close to the upset despite Maryland having a huge advantage in nearly every offensive category. The Terrapins had a 24-5 advantage in shots, an 11-4 edge in shots on goal and an 8-1 lead in corner kicks.

The Terrapins' first chance came in the fourth minute but Spencer was stymied by Bodenschatz. After Maryland hit the crossbar in the 13th minute, Bodenschatz made a pair of saves to keep it scoreless. In the 21st minute, Kelly Thomas had a header that Maryland goalkeeper Yewande Balogun stopped to keep it a one-goal game. Bodenschatz made one more save before the half stopping a Lydia Hastings shot in the 31st minute.

Midway through the second half, Maryland had a flurry of opportunities but couldn't capitalize. A pair of Maryland shots were blocked by Mason defenders, a third shot hit the post and the shot off the rebounds went wide. Spencer then had an attempt stopped by Bodenschatz and another blocked as Maryland's hopes began to dwindle. Davis nearly made it 2-0 in the 78th minute by Balogun made her second of three saves on the night.

After the Terrapins scored, Kelly Thomas had a shot at the net on a free kick but Balogun rose to the challenge. Bodenschatz, too, stepped up off a Maryland corner in the 82nd minute. Perhaps her biggest stop came in the 87th minute when Ashley Grove made a great move to create space only for Bodenschatz to make a diving stop. The Terrapins had one last chance in regulation but Olivia Wagner couldn't get it past the Mason keeper. The Patriots had their lone corner kick in the final 15 seconds of regulation but couldn't get off a shot. Spencer's overtime goal was the lone shot in overtime.

The Patriots will return to action on Friday when they host Old Dominion in their Colonial Athletic Association opener. That match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.