Box Score (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University women's lacrosse team had a taste of the lead against a top-10 team Wednesday night but could not muster enough goals to pull off the upset, falling to No. 8 Virginia in Charlottesville.
 
Mason led 2-1 and tied it up at 3-3 at the 20:51 mark of the first half. But Virginia created some cushion with a 6-1 run to end the first half and were able to separate a bit more in the second half.
 
The game marked Mason's fourth against a nationally-ranked team in five contests so far this season.

"The experiences our program has had over the last several weeks, competing against four of the top-15 teams in the country, has battle tested our players early and often," head coach Kara Mupo said. "Although the outcome was not what we hoped for today, we saw an exponential amount of growth in many areas of our game. We will take the next 10 days to recover, refine and refocus all aspects of our game in order to be prepared for the start of conference play."
 
For the second-straight contest, freshman Mason Donohue stepped up their game in the cage, tallying 10 saves in a full 60 minutes. Including Saturday's win at Radford, Donohue is averaging 11.5 saves over the past two contests.
 
Junior Deanna Balsama's presence has bolstered Mason's offense in the two games since her return to the field. She led the Patriots with a hat trick, marking her highest goal output of the season. The Sewell, N.J., product also registered a team-best four draw controls.
 
Senior Erin Donoghue added a pair of goals and picked up a ground ball, while senior Niki Baker notched a career-best two assists. Senior Christina Romano also tallied a pair of assists and freshman Kate Antonelli added her first career score for the Green & Gold.
 
Trailing 1-0, Mason tied the score at 1-1 after a Chloe Reed goal off an assist from Baker. Mason led 2-1 after a Balsama goal, but UVa responded with two scores to go up 3-2. After Donoghue netted a goal to tie it up at 3-3, the Cavaliers answered again with two goals to make it 5-3. Balsama's goal moved Mason back within one (5-4) with 16:53 left in the opening half, but that 6-1 run by the Cavaliers extended their lead to 11-5 at the break.
 
The Cavaliers proceeded to increase their margin by five in the second half.
 
Mason now takes a 10-day competitive hiatus before opening A-10 play at Revolutionary Rival George Washington on March 20 in the District. That contest will begin at 3 p.m.