KINGSTON, R.I. – The fourth-seeded George Mason women's soccer team fell to top-seeded Saint Joseph's 5-2 in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship on Friday at Rhode Island's Soccer Complex in Kingston, R.I.

Mason (13-7-1, 6-3-1 A-10) finished the season with the fifth-most victories in program history and advanced to the semifinals of the A-10 Championship for the second straight season.

"Having the success that we had and the times where we faced adversity, this team always bounced back," Mason head coach Todd Bramble said.  "The resilience that this team displayed throughout the season is something that we want to have as a core value of our program.  That's something that we'll definitely remember about this group."

The Patriots started quick against the Hawks on Friday, recording early offensive chances for the second straight game.  Mason had three corner kicks in the first eight minutes of the contest but failed to convert.

Mason lost one of its key players when senior goalkeeper Kirsten Glad, who started every game this season, was shaken up 15 minutes into the first half after a collision with a charging Hawks forward.  Glad was slow to get up but would remain in the match.

Saint Joseph's (18-1-2, 9-0-1 A-10) entered the game as the top team in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region and 37th in the NCAA Division I rankings.  The only loss that the Hawks have suffered this year was in the second game of the regular season when they were blanked by Rutgers 1-0 on Aug. 26 in New Brunswick, N.J.

The Hawks, the highest-scoring team in the conference, took the lead in the 16th minute.  Senior Shannon Mulvey netted her third goal of the season, scoring off a rebound to put Saint Joseph's in front 1-0.  A-10 Rookie of the Year Gabrielle Vagnozzi picked up an assist on the goal.

After the goal, Glad was taken out of the game and replaced by Mason sophomore Morgan Symmers, who appeared in three games during the regular season.

Vagnozzi increased the Hawks lead less than seven minutes later when she gathered a rebound off a blocked cross and found the back of the net, scoring her third goal of the season in the 23rd minute to make the score 2-0. 

Moments later, Symmers kept the score 2-0 with a diving save to her right with just over two minutes remaining in the half.

The Patriots held opponents scoreless in the first half in 14 of their 21 games this season.

The Patriots applied early pressure to start the second half with senior Sarah Hardison getting a chance in the first minute of play, but the Hawks were able to maintain their two-goal lead. 

Sophomore Dakota Mills, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, padded the Hawks lead to 3-0 when she found the back of the net from ten yards out off a cross from Mulvey just seven minutes into the second half.  Mills picked the low corner with a shot inside the left post in the 52nd minute, scoring past the leaping Symmers to notch her 17th goal of the season.

Symmers stayed focused in goal for Mason, making a spectacular save on Mulvey minutes later on a one-on-one opportunity for the Hawks.

Saint Joseph's has scored 51 goals in 21 games this season.  The Hawks have netted at least two goals in 17 of their 21 games and are ranked in the top-15 in the nation in goals per game.

The Patriots, the third-highest scoring team in the conference, wouldn't go away quietly and began to mount a comeback by scoring twice in a span of two minutes.

"I couldn't be more proud of the effort from our group tonight," Bramble said.  "After making the game 3-2, we threw everything we had at them after that and created a few more chances.  I thought we had them on the ropes and had a chance to equalize.  They took advantage of a couple more chances and put the game out of reach, but our players never quit at any moment in the game."

Junior Abby Downey broke the shutout when she scored her fifth goal of the season on a set play in the 74th minute.  Sophomore Emily Littell started the play with a corner kick, with Downey finding the back of the net with a header to cut the Hawks lead to 3-1.

Mason turned the momentum in the 76th minute on an own goal by Saint Joseph's.  Junior Erin Mitchell used her speed to find space in the middle of the field and from 20 yards out, her shot deflected off the head of a defender and sailed over the outstretched arm of Hawks sophomore goaltender Grace Bendon to bring the Patriots within one goal. 

"It's hard to single anyone out because we had multiple players who were outstanding tonight," Bramble said.  "Abby played on both sides of our back line and we put her in the center of the midfield and that's a position she hadn't played all year.  She was great on set pieces and that's how she scored her goal."

Junior Nicolette Herdegen nearly tied the game, but her rising shot from 20 yards out was deflected over the crossbar by the Hawks goalkeeper.

Junior Lauren Dimes would score her fourth goal of the season for the Hawks 93 seconds later to make the score 4-2 in the 77th minute.  Mills tallied the final goal of the game in the 88th minute, netting her second goal of the night and 18th of the season in Saint Joseph's 5-2 win.

The two teams combined to score three goals in a span of five minutes and five goals total in the second half of play. 

The Hawks outshot the Patriots 15-13, including a 9-7 shots on goal advantage.  For the Patriots, Glad (13-7-1, 6-3-1 A-10) played 15:29 and made one save before leaving the game, while Symmers recorded four saves in 74:31 of play.  Bendon (7-0-0) made five saves for Saint Joseph's and has stopped 15 shots over the first two games of the tournament.

Mason dominated on the end line, earning 12 corner kicks to Saint Joseph's two.

Saint Joseph's set a program record with its 18th win of the season and has advanced to the Atlantic 10 Championship game for the first time in program history.  The Hawks, the A-10 regular-season champion, will face seventh-seeded Dayton.  The Flyers earned a spot in the title game with a 2-0 win over No. 6 George Washington on Friday.

"I'd like to congratulate Saint Joseph's, not only for their victory tonight, but for their play in the regular season and the performance that they had," Bramble said.  "It should be a great final on Sunday.  I'd also like to thank the Atlantic 10 and Rhode Island for hosting a great championship event.  The field, facilities and the experience for the student-athletes were first-class and we're appreciative of the hospitality."

The Patriots finished the season with a 7-3-1 record at George Mason Stadium.  The seven home wins were the most for Mason since the 2011 season and  tied for the fifth-most at home in program history.  Mason's five road victories were the most the team has recorded since joining the Atlantic 10 and tied for the third-most road wins in program history.

Mason's 13 victories overall this season were the most for the program since the Patriots finished with a 14-4-1 record in 2009.  With a conference record of 6-3-1, the Patriots posted more wins against Atlantic 10 foes than in any of their first three years in the conference.

The Patriots went 9-0-1 this season when scoring the first goal of the game and were 8-1 in games decided by a single goal.

The Patriots scored 39 goals and allowed 35 over 21 games.  Mason had 10 players score at least one goal this season, with seven players scoring at least two goals.  Mitchell and Hardison tied for the team lead with eight goals.  Hardison led the squad with four game-winners.  

Senior Alex Myers and Downey each found the back of the net five times, while junior Jenna Hamilton and sophomore Nia Elbeck finished with three goals each.  Freshman Hugrun Olafsdottir led the Patriots with six assists.

Bramble spoke of what he would say to his team when they meet in the next few days.

"Just how proud I am of them and how easy it was to coach this group," said Bramble.  "A lot of times when your season ends with a loss, there's a sense of disappointment but I think this season is going to be different.  This game will do a lot for us because we finished the season feeling good about how we played.  This program has a bright future.  We have a lot of returning players that we're excited about."