FAIRFAX, Va. - Behind goals by senior Zoe Doherty and sophomore
Nicole Clark inside of the first five minutes of play, the George Mason women's
soccer team picked up a crucial Colonial Athletic Association victory over
Delaware Friday night, 2-0. The win pushes the Patriots (7-5-5, 4-2-3 CAA)
unbeaten streak to four matches, while Delaware dropped to 7-6-3 (3-3-2 CAA).
With fewer than two minutes elapsed after the opening
whistle, senior Kelly Thomas gathered the ball on the far sideline and played a
lob pass to Tiana Kallenberger. The junior raced down the sideline and sent a
high cross into the box near the far post, where Doherty trapped it and
finished below the arms of UD goalkeeper Breanna Stemler. Doherty's strike
found the back center of the net for her team-leading sixth goal of the season,
while Kallenberger earned her seventh assist of the year on the play.
The Patriots wasted no time in adding what would prove to be
an insurance goal. In the fifth minute, freshman Liz Hodges took possession
near midfield and fed Clark to the outside with a through ball. Dribbling in
front of the visitors' bench on the near sideline, Clark stopped three yards in
front of the left post and fired a curving shot on a steep angle which found
the net just inside of the far post. The goal was Clark's fourth of the year,
aided by Hodges's second assist of her career.
From there, the Patriot defense took over, as sophomore
goalkeeper Lyndse Hokanson notched her fourth shutout of the season, stopping three
Blue Hen shots on goal. UD's best scoring opportunity of the night was thwarted
by the Mason defense though, as Chelsea Duffy placed a chip shot on frame in
the 30th minute. With Hokanson challenging six yards out, the shot
went above the keeper's reach but senior Nicole Peters was there to stop and
kick the ball out of danger.
Hokanson picked up her three saves on line-drive shots by
Blue Hens Laura Klebe, Ali Miller and Stacie Dulkis, all easily collected by
the keeper.
On the night, the Patriots recorded 17 shots compared to
seven for Delaware, including a 9-to-4 advantage in shots on goal. UD attempted
nine corner kicks versus eight for Mason, who also committed 10 fouls over five
by the Blue Hens. Stemler stopped seven Patriots shots in net for Delaware.
With just two matches remaining in the season, the Patriots
host Drexel at 2 p.m. at George Mason Stadium on Sunday.
