FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason women's soccer team held the
early lead, but Northeastern scored late in the second half and sealed the Colonial
Athletic Association win with a Georgina Kemp double-overtime goal Friday night
at George Mason Stadium.
"I'm proud of the team for the way they fought tonight,"
stated head coach Diane Drake. "It is a tough loss, but that's the way soccer
is played. We just have to refocus and regroup to find a way to win on Sunday."
The conference foes posed several scoring opportunities in
the first half, but could not convert as the teams stood scoreless at
intermission. Mason (4-5-4, 1-2-2) posted its first threat of the half when Zoe
Doherty escaped two Northeastern (7-5-1, 3-1-1) defenders and slipped a pass to
the right finding Nicole Clark who took a shot into the hands of Northeastern
goalkeeper Paige Burnett. Mason's best scoring opportunity of the period came
just over a minute later when Mary Kate Lowry blasted a shot from 15-yards out
on the right corner as Burnett reached high to make the stop.
Just 37 seconds into the second half, Mason broke through on
Doherty's fourth goal of the season. From the near side, Tiana Kallenberger set
up Doherty in the middle of the box with a perfect pass. Doherty took three
steps and drilled a shot to the right of the keeper to give the Patriots the
1-0 lead at the 45:37 mark.
Northeastern tried to take advantage on a Kelly Matthews
free kick in the 55th minute, but the attempt was blocked by a Mason
defender and sailed high.
In the 75th minute, Mason looked to double its lead when
Clark, from the near corner, delivered a cross to Doherty in the middle of the
box. Doherty one-timed the retrieval, but Paige Burnett was in front to make
the stop.
Less than a minute later, Northeastern knotted the contest
at 1-all when Magnusdottir scored unassisted from 35-yards out into the top
right corner of the net just past the hands of Hokanson. To close regulation, the
Huskies blocked out a threat by the Patriots when Lowry drilled a shot from five-yards
out in front of the net in the 86th minute.
With under five seconds on the clock in the first overtime,
the Huskies cleared out a Mason threat. Casey Vornadore took a corner for the
Patriots and after a scramble, Clark attempted to put one in the back of the
net with the goalkeeper out of position, but a Northeastern defender made the
save to force a second overtime.
Lyndse Hokanson came up with a big stop early in the second
overtime on a Napoli attempt from 10-yards out on the left. The Patriots countered
on the other end when Liz Hodges put a shot on frame from the near side with five
minutes to play. With 2:17 on the clock, Kemp scored the game-winner for the
Huskies with her first goal of the season. Kemp headed a Hannah O'Donnell
corner kick from 10-yards out to the right of Hokanson into the right corner of
the net for the 2-1 final score.
Mason outshot Northeastern 18-15 and held an 11-3 advantage
in corner kicks. Both teams put seven shots on goal as Hokanson made five stops
and Burnett recorded six. Lowry and Clark led the Patriots with five shots
apiece.
Mason concludes this three-game homestand welcoming Hofstra
to George Mason Stadium on Sunday, October 9 for a 2 p.m. matchup.
