WOMEN'S SOCCER at George Washington
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 23, 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: GW Soccer Field in Washington, D.C.
RECORDS: George Mason (11-5-0, 5-2-0 A-10); George Washington (10-4-2, 4-1-2 A-10)
SERIES RECORD: The Patriots lead 19-2-3
LAST MEETING: The Patriots defeated the Colonials 1-0 on Nov. 5, 2015 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Davidson, N.C.
FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason women's soccer team plays the second of three straight games on the road, facing George Washington in the Revolutionary Rivalry on Sunday with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. at GW Soccer Field in Washington, D.C.
Mason (11-5-0, 5-2-0 A-10) scored three goals in a span of 16 minutes in the first half at VCU on the way to a 4-1 win on Thursday at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Va. The Patriots won on the road against the Rams for the first time since the 2001 season.
Junior Erin Mitchell scored two goals, sophomore Emily Littell added a goal and an assist and junior Kaila Williams netted her first goal of the season in the victory over the Rams.
Mitchell, who recorded the first hat trick of her career on Sunday against Davidson, has scored five goals over the last two games. Williams tallied the second goal of her career and the first since her freshman season in 2014, when she scored in a 2-1 win over American.
Sophomore Nia Elbeck and classmate Rebecca Callison each picked up an assist in the game.
"We were certainly happy to be able to leave Richmond with a win," Mason head coach Todd Bramblesaid. "I don't think anyone saw the game unfolding the way it did and for us to race out to a three-goal lead at halftime. Offensively, things are just clicking for us and the ball is flying in the net right now. I'm just trying to stay out of their way."
Three goals in the first 45 minutes are the most that Mason has scored in a half on the road since they netted three goals in a span of seven minutes in the first half against Maryland on Sept. 11 in a 5-2 win at College Park.
The Rams outshot the Patriots 17-14, but Mason finished with a 9-7 shots on goal advantage. Senior goalkeeper Kirsten Glad (11-5-0) made six saves in the win. The Patriots have held opponents scoreless in the first 45 minutes in 12 of their 16 games this season.
"We would like to keep that streak alive a little bit longer," Bramble said of the play in the defensive end of the field. "I have to give credit to our whole team. They put a lot of focus into our team defending tactics. We're a difficult team to break down and I like the way we are mixing up the pressure. The players have the freedom to choose for themselves, within the feel of the game, when they want to shift in and out of high pressure."
Mason is tied for the second-most wins in the conference with a 5-2-0 record. With 15 points, the Patriots are one point behind both Saint Louis and Duquesne for second place in the Atlantic 10 standings.
The Patriots improved to 8-0 this season when scoring the first goal of the game. It was just the second time that Mason has scored the first goal on the road this season.
Mason's 11 victories are the most for the program since an 11-win season during the 2010 campaign. With a conference record of 5-2-0, the Patriots have surpassed their conference win total from 2015, when they finished the season with a 4-5-1 record against Atlantic 10 foes.
After being held to two or fewer goals in six straight games, the Patriots have scored four goals in each of the last two outings. It's the fourth time this season that Mason has found the back of the net four times in a contest.
"There are so many players stepping up and helping us in the offensive end of the field," Bramble said. "It makes our team difficult to defend because teams can't key on any one individual."
Mason has outscored opponents 12-8 in the first half and 18-14 in the second half this season.
The Patriots have had 10 players score at least one goal this season, with seven players recording at least two goals. Senior Sarah Hardison and Mitchell share the team lead with seven goals and 16 points and are tied for fourth in the Atlantic 10 in goals. Hardison paced the Patriots with 10 goals during the 2015 season.
Senior Alex Myers has found the back of the net four times, while junior Abby Downey and sophomore Nia Elbeck have each netted three goals.
Four of Hardison's goals have been the first goal of the game for Mason and three have been game-winners. Mitchell has also scored three game-deciding goals. Seven players overall have notched a game-winner for Mason this season.
Senior Nicolette Herdegen, junior Jenna Hamilton and Littell have each found the back of the net twice through 16 games of the season. Freshman Hugrun Olafsdottir and Elbeck are tied for the team lead and rank third in the Atlantic 10 with five assists. Williams, Myers and Littell have picked up four assists each for Mason this season.
In 2015, the Patriots finished with a road record of 2-2-1 in conference play. Mason is 2-1-0 in its first three A-10 road games this season. The Patriots edged UMass 2-1 in double overtime on Oct. 6, dropped a 4-0 decision at Saint Louis on Oct. 9 and rumbled past VCU 4-1 on Thursday.
At 4-2-0 away from home overall, the Patriots have equaled their road win total from the 2015 season.
Mason and George Washington are meeting for the 25th time, with the Patriots leading the all-time series 19-2-3. Last season, the Colonials scored with less than three minutes remaining in double-overtime, earning a 1-0 win over the Patriots at George Mason Stadium in the lone regular-season matchup.
The Patriots outshot the Colonials 16-8, including an 8-5 shots on goal advantage. Glad made four saves in the contest.
The two teams met again in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Davidson, N.C., where the eighth-seeded Patriots upset the top-seeded Colonials 1-0. Downey scored the lone goal in the 76th minute and Glad made four saves in the win.
George Washington entered the tournament with a 13-game winning streak and a perfect 10-0-0 conference record from the regular season.
"Both of the games last year were really tightly contested," Bramble said. "It was just a matter of who finished their chances at the right time in either of those games. The Colonials are a solid team and don't give up a lot of goals. We can expect to have a limited number of chances in the game, so when those opportunities arise, we have to be sharp."
From 1982, when the Patriot's women's soccer program began, through the 2013 season, Mason went unbeaten against George Washington with a record 18-0-3. In those 21 meetings, the Patriots outscored the Colonials 59-14 with 10 of the wins by shutout.
The Patriots are 6-1-2 all-time on the road against the Colonials dating back to the 1983 season.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
George Washington (10-4-2, 4-1-2 A-10) played to a 0-0 double-overtime draw on the road against Fordham on Thursday. The Colonials outshot the Rams 8-7 and each team finished the game with just one shot on goal.
The Colonials began the season with five straight wins, but then suffered four straight losses in September. Since the losing streak, George Washington is unbeaten in its last six games, going 4-0-2 and has outscored opponents by a combined score of 9-2.
George Washington has won its first three conference home games of the season. The Colonials defeated St. Bonaventure 3-0 on Oct. 2, slipped past VCU 1-0 in overtime on Oct. 13 and earned a 2-1 win over Richmond on Oct. 16.
Defensively, the Colonials have surrendered two goals or fewer in each of their 16 games this season. George Washington has outscored opponents 11-4 in the first half and 9-7 in the final 45 minutes of regulation.
Senior MacKenzie Cowley leads the Colonials with nine goals and 19 points. She's tied for the third-most goals in the Atlantic 10. Junior Brittany Cooper is second on the team with three goals and eight points. MacKenzie has netted nine of the Colonials 21 goals this season.
In goal, junior Miranda Horn (10-4-2) has made 65 saves and allowed just eight goals over 16 appearances. Horn leads the Atlantic 10 with a 0.50 goals against average and .890 save percentage. She has recorded eight shutouts, tied for the most in the conference.
George Washington finished with an overall record of 15-5-0 and went 10-0-0 in conference play last season before falling 1-0 to the Patriots in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament quarterfinals. The Colonials were 8-1-0 at home and 6-3-0 on the road during the 2015 campaign.
