FAIRFAX, Va. – A lengthy scoring drought cost the George Mason women's lacrosse team a chance to close out its home schedule with a win.
The Patriots suffered a 20-10 loss to Saint Joseph's on Friday at George Mason Stadium on Senior Day. Mason (10-5, 6-1 Atlantic 10) surrendered nine straight goals and failed to score for more than 25 minutes as its six-game winning streak ended.
The Patriots jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led 7-3 with 15:58 remaining in the first half. But Mason went silent for the next 26 minutes. Saint Joseph's (9-5, 5-1) took advantage, scoring the last five goals of the first half and the first four to start the second half.
Nora McCallion's second straight goal gave the Hawks a 12-7 lead with 22:43 remaining in the game. Mason freshman
Hailey Johnson ended the drought with her first goal of the game with 20:37 left. Saint Joseph's, however, responded right away, scoring less than a minute later. The Hawks pushed the lead to 14-8 with 16:20 to go before a lightning delay halted the game for 38 minutes.
After the game resumed, Saint Joseph's scored six of the final eight goals to seal the victory and snap Mason's nine-game conference winning streak that dated back to April 17, 2016. Despite winning the draw control 20-12, the Patriots committed 16 turnovers and 42 fouls.
They also scored just 10 goals on 29 shots. The Hawks, meanwhile, made half of their 40 attempts. Mason's
Chachi Kelehan scored three goals and
Brooke Lorber and
Melissa Lobaccaro each had two goals. McCallion scored a game-high seven goals for Saint Joseph's. George Mason goalkeeper
Melissa Semkiw made seven saves but allowed 12 goals. She was relieved in the second half by
Elizabeth Benedetto, who made five saves and allowed eight goals in 22 minutes. Amelia Deibler made 13 saves for the Hawks.
The Patriots look to bounce back as they hit the road to play eight-time A-10 defending champ Massachusetts at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Amherst, Mass.
