CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The George Mason women's soccer team kept No. 4 Virginia off the scoreboard in the second half, but the Cavaliers earned a 2-0 win on Sunday night in Charlottesville, Va.

Mason (1-1-0, 0-0-0 A-10) fell behind 1-0 early when Virginia (2-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) junior Veronica Latsko scored her first goal of the season, finding the net inside the left post from six yards out in the second minute of play.  Latsko was one of the leading scorers for the Cavaliers last season with seven goals.

Virginia increased the advantage to 2-0 when senior Alexis Shaffer scored into the bottom left corner from eight yards out in the 30th minute.  Shaffer finished tied for first on the Cavaliers with 14 goals last season.

The Cavaliers had the possession advantage throughout, outshooting the Patriots 15-2 in the first half and 8-2 in the second half.  Virginia had 11 corner kicks in the game and Mason had just two.

“We'll grow from this in a lot of different areas,” Mason head coach Todd Bramble said.  “Our team chemistry, fitness level, and defensive organization will benefit from this as well as our ability to deal with long periods when a team has momentum against us.  We'll get better in all those areas after playing this match tonight.”

Mason senior goalkeeper Kirsten Glad came up with four saves in the first half to keep the score 2-0.  She continued the strong play in the second half, including making three saves in a span of five minutes.  Glad kicked aside a shot from 15 yards out in the 58th minute, dove to her left to turn away the Cavaliers in the 60th minute and knocked another blast aside with her right arm on a shot from 10 yards out in the 63rd minute.

“I was really proud of the effort of our players tonight,” said Bramble.  “We bent at times but we never broke.  Our goalkeeper, Kirsten, was big in the second half for us and really kept us in the game.”

Glad faced four shots in the first half and five in the second against the Cavaliers, finishing the game with nine saves.

“That was one of the most exciting games I've ever played,” Glad said.  “Even though we lost, I was so proud of how we played.  We came back and played so strong in the second half.”

Virginia began the season ranked No. 4 in the preseason poll released by the National Collegiate Soccer Coaches Association of America. 

The Patriots were more than ready for the challenge of facing a top-five opponent.

“We train in hard situations where chances like that are going to happen and you just have to be ready for it,” said Glad.  “Today I was ready and we kept the shutout in the second half.”

The Cavaliers outshot the Patriots 23-4 for the game.  Senior Sarah Hardison was credited with the Patriots lone shot on goal.

The Patriots and Cavaliers met for the first time since 2012, when then No. 7 ranked Virginia earned a 3-0 win.  With the victory, Virginia takes the lead in the all-time series 12-11-3.

Virginia senior goalkeeper Morgan Stearns set the school record for the most wins in Cavaliers history with the 56th victory of her career.

The Patriots return to action on Thursday, Aug. 25 against American at George Mason Stadium.