Sept. 24, 2010

Box Score

Fairfax, Va. - The George Mason women's soccer team scored just before halftime then again near the end of a second overtime period as the Patriots rallied from a one-goal deficit to beat Old Dominion, 2-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams. Tiana Kallenberger provided the game-winner off an assist from Zoe Doherty as Mason moved to 5-3-1 on the year and ODU fell to 2-4-1.

The Patriots pressed the attack more than usual near in the overtime periods and after several near-misses, Mason grabbed the victory in the 107th minute. Doherty found herself with the ball center about 25 yards out and she dropped a beautiful pass to Kallenberger on the right wing. The sophomore scored her fourth goal of the year by going top shelf far post. It was the sixth game-winning goal of her career.

Old Dominion had the match's first scoring opportunity in the match's first minute as Kate Kelly put a shot on goal by Alex Bodenschatz was positioned perfectly to stop the ball. Mason's first scoring chance came in the 17th minute when an unmarked Alyssa Andersen took a pass on the left wing, centered the ball in traffic and blistered a shot from 25 yards out off the crossbar.

The game's first goal came in the 26th minute off an Old Dominion corner kick. Rachael Carroll took the corner on the right wing and she served it to the far post where Amber Cook got her head on the ball and put it into the right bottom corner of the net. The Patriots were able to tie the score in the 44th minute when Kimmy Moss took a corner kick from the left wing and she hit the far post in the air and the ball ricocheted in to make it 1-1.

Mason nearly took a 21 lead in the 77th minute but keeper Brianna Alvardo slid outside the box and stopped a Mason cross. Old Dominion nearly made it 2-1 a minute later when the Patriots were called for a foul in the box but Bodenschatz stopped Victoria Johnson's penalty kick low and to her left. It's the second time this season Mason keepers have stopped penalty kicks on three attempts. The Monarchs had another fabulous opportunity in the 87th minute but Bodenschatz stopped a point-blank shot from inside 5 yards.

The match nearly ended with less than 20 seconds to play in the first overtime when Omolyn Davis took a pass deep on the left side, brought the ball to the center of the field and blasted a shot from the edge of the box. But she was inches wide as the ball hit the right crossbar and went out of bounds. Three minutes into the second overtime, Davis brought the ball up the left wing and found Doherty but she shot it high from 15 yards out. In the 104th minute, Zania Barnum found Tiana Kallenberger on the right wing and her cross found Davis' head but Alvarado made the stop to extend the match.

The Patriots will return to action on Sunday when they host William & Mary (5-3-1, 1-0-0) at 2 p.m. The Tribe opened CAA play on Friday with a 3-2 win at Towson.