Photo courtesy of Brian McWalters/Atlantic 10 Conference

RICHMOND – A slow start, too many mistakes and missed opportunities doomed the George Mason women's lacrosse team in a season-ending loss.

The Patriots suffered a 14-9 loss to Saint Joseph's in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Lacrosse Championship on Thursday at Robins Stadium. No. 6 seed Mason (11-7) suffered its second loss to the Hawks in 11 days as the Patriots' season came to an end.

No. 3 seed Saint Joseph's (12-6) led from start to finish. The Hawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead less than 12 minutes into the game. The Patriots, playing in their fourth straight A-10 tournament, closed the gap to three goals on five different occasions but never got any closer.

They last cut the lead to 12-9 with 5:27 left thanks to goals by A-10 Rookie of the Year Erin Donoghue and sophomore Hailey Johnson. The Patriots had chance to pull within two after getting a defensive stop.

But a turnover in transition hindered that opportunity. St. Joe's managed to run down the clock before adding two goals in the last minute to seal the victory.

Mason committed 16 turnovers, including nine in the first half, and scored just nine goals on 31 shots. Five of those goals came on free-position shots as Mason was 5-of-8 from the eight-meter arc.

The Patriots drew four penalties by the Hawks but scored just once with the advantage. Mason actually surrendered a goal to Saint Joseph's in the first half despite playing a man-up.

The team's top two scorers, Donoghue and junior Chachi Kelehan, each scored three goals. Kelehan finished her season with 52 goals, which ranks fourth all-time in a season in program history. Donoghue's 44 goals are eighth-most all-time in a single season.

Senior Lindsey Tangeman scored a goal and dished out three assists. Graduate student Corinne Wessels and Johnson each scored once. Wessel's 32 assists are the second-most in a single season.

Junior Elizabeth Benedetto made her first start of the season and made seven saves while allowing seven goals. Sophomore Melissa Semkiw jumped into the cage after halftime and made six saves while allowing seven goals.