FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason junior Erin Mitchell recorded her first career hat trick, while classmate Abby Downey added a goal and two assists, leading the Patriots to a 4-0 victory over Davidson on Sunday.
Mason (10-5-0, 4-2-0 A-10) reached the double-digit mark in wins for the first time since 2010, when the Patriots recorded 11 victories.
Davidson (5-9-1, 1-4-1 A-10) entered the game in search of its second straight win after defeating UMass 1-0 on Thursday.
The Patriots and Wildcats remained scoreless after the first half. Mason has held opponents scoreless in the first 45 minutes in 11 of 15 games this season.
“It was pretty even in the first half, they were well organized and tough to break down,” Mason head coach Todd Bramble said. “We weren't quite as dangerous as we were hoping for in the first half, we created a couple of chances, but we opened the game up in the second half.”
The Patriots broke the ice early in the second half when Mitchell put the Patriots in front 1-0 in the 48th minute, scoring inside the right post with a header from six yards out. Senior Sarah Hardison started the play when she stole the ball from a Davidson defender in the middle of the field and sent a pass to Downey, who picked up an assist on the goal with a cross from the right side.
The Patriots had surrendered the first goal of the game in each of their last three outings. This season, Mason has netted the first goal of the game six times in its 10 home games and just once in five games on the road. The only game the Patriots have scored first on the road this season was in a 5-2 win over Maryland on Sept. 11 at College Park.
The Patriots improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 at home this season when scoring the first goal of the game.
Mason took control of the match, scoring three goals against Davidson in a span of 11 minutes.
The Patriots doubled the lead to 2-0 in the 66th minute of play. Downey's cross from the right side was punched by the Davidson goalkeeper, but right to Mitchell, who took advantage of the big rebound and scored with another header from inside the box. Downey picked up her second assist of the game and third helper of the season on the play.
Just six minutes later, Downey padded the Mason advantage in the 72nd minute when she found the back of the net with a header from five yards out to expand the lead to 3-0. Freshman Hugrun Olafsdottir sent a free kick into the box to register her team-leading fifth assist of the season. Olafsdottir has recorded four of her five assists at George Mason Stadium.
Downey set a new career-high for goals with her third of the season. She scored twice over 20 games during the 2015 campaign.
Mitchell completed the hat trick in the 77th minute of play when she redirected a cross past the Wildcats goalkeeper to make the score 4-0. Senior Anna Ludwick started the play with a pass up the field to sophomore Nia Elbeck, who raced past a defender and set up the goal with a cross from just outside the box on the right side.
“Erin is good on the outside, whether it's taking on defenders one-on-one and delivering crosses into the penalty area for others to score, or being on the receiving end of crosses,” Bramble said. “Abby played two great crosses to Erin today and she made no mistakes. Right place at the right time, but you still have to execute to finish those chances and Erin did a great job of that today.”
Mitchell's hat trick, the first of her collegiate career, marks the first hat trick by a Patriot since Hardison scored three goals on three shots in a 3-0 win at American on Aug. 23, 2015.
Mitchell has a career-best five goals this season after scoing three goals on three shots on Sunday against the Wildcats. Her previous high was three goals in 17 games played during the 2014 season. Mitchell is second on the team with five goals and tied for second with 12 points.
It was the second time this season that Mason has scored four goals in a half. The Patriots also found the back of the net four times in the first half on Sept. 1 in a 4-0 win over Howard.
The Patriots have been tough to beat on their home turf, improving to 7-3-0 at home this season after winning just four times at George Mason Stadium a year ago.
“I think the players are well aware of that and pleased with the outcome and where we are at this stage of the season,” said Bramble of the home-field advantage his team has established. “We had been in a goal-scoring drought. The players had gone through two full games without scoring and I'm glad the goals came in bunches in the second half. It will give the players confidence that they haven't forgotten how to score and we'll carry that over on the road.”
Mason's 10 victories is one more that it recorded last season. The Patriots have also equaled their conference win total from 2015, when they finished with a 4-5-1 record against Atlantic 10 foes.
Davidson allowed more than two goals in a game for just the third time this season. The Wildcats had given up just eight goals in the second half of play over the first 14 games. Davidson dropped its sixth straight road game, with five of the six losses by shutout. The Wildcats have been outscored 13-1 during their road losing streak.
The Patriots outshot the Wildcats 14-6, including a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal. Mitchell, Downey and sophomore Rebecca Callison combined to account for eight of Mason's nine shots on goal in the game.
It's the fourth time this season that the Patriots have blanked an opponent, with all four at home. Senior goalkeeper Kirsten Glad (10-5-0, 4-2-0 A-10) made four saves to record her third shutout of the season.
“Our defense played well and I didn't have to make that many big saves,” Glad said. “This was a game we needed to win and now we just have to carry the momentum through the next three games.”
The Patriots are back in action on Thursday, Oct. 20, when they begin a three-game road trip at VCU with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
