WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senior Sarah Hardison scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season to lift the George Mason women's soccer team to a 1-0 win over George Washington on Sunday at GW Soccer Field in Washington, D.C.

Mason (12-5-0, 6-2-0 A-10) broke the ice in the 32nd minute.  Junior Kaila Williams played a corner kick to freshman Hugrun Olafsdottir, who sent a cross into the box.  Hardison redirected the ball with her right leg from six yards out to put the Patriots up 1-0. 

George Washington had allowed just four goals in the first half this season entering the game.

"They called our play off the corner kick, where Hugrun crosses it and it was a great cross in," Hardison said.  "I got my leg out and was there to finish it.  George Washington always plays hard and it's always a good game when we face each other."

Five of Hardison's eight goals this season have been the first goal of the game for the Patriots and four have been game-winners.  Olafsdottir has picked up an assist in each of the last two games and leads the team with six assists.

The Patriots earned their third straight win and moved into second place in the Atlantic 10 with 18 points.  It's the third winning streak of at least three games for Mason this season.

Mason improved to 9-0 this season when scoring the first goal of the game.  The Patriots are 7-1 in games decided by one goal.

"I'm really proud of the players today for their performance," Mason head coach Todd Bramble said.  "George Washington has two really good forwards that we wanted to take the space away from, so our game plan was a bit different than it has been."

George Washington (10-5-2, 4-2-2 A-10) had one of its best chances in the 17th minute.  After Mason junior Kelsey Young was issued a yellow card, Colonials senior MacKenzie Cowley collected a pass off the free kick but missed the frame wide to the left. 

Senior goalkeeper Kirsten Glad (12-5-0, 6-2-0 A-10) kept the game scoreless with a spectacular save in the 27th minute, diving out to her left to deny Cowley, one of the Atlantic 10's top goal scorers. 

"I was just trying to shut down the angle and make the goal as small as I could," Gald said.  "It was just my day.  It's hard playing on the road because you have more pressure on you."  

The Patriots have held opponents scoreless in the first half in 13 of their 17 games this season.

Glad was sharp in the second half as well.  In the 64th minute, she turned Cowley away again when she kicked out a shot from 10 yards out.  Glad made three saves in the first half and one in the second half to record her fourth shutout of the season and first on the road.

"We know in a game like this that Kirsten is going to have to come up big for us at some point in the game," Bramble said.  "She made two really good saves for us today."

Mason nearly increased the lead 10 minutes into the second half.  Senior Nicolette Herdegen sent a cross to sophomore Emily Littell, but her header from inside the box sailed over the crossbar.

With the win, the Patriot's dealt the Colonials their second home loss of the season.  Mason improved to 7-1-2 all-time on the road against George Washington.  Each of the last three meetings between the two teams has ended with a 1-0 final score.  

The Patriots outshot the Colonials 11-10, while George Washington finished the game with a 4-2 shots on goal advantage.  Hardison recorded the only two shots on goal for the Patriots.

Mason's 12 victories this season are the most for the program since the Patriots finished with a 14-4-1 record in 2009.

The Patriots play their final road game of the regular season at La Salle on Thursday, Oct. 27 with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.