Box Score (PDF)
FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University lacrosse freshman goalkeeper
Mason Donohue tallied a career-best 17 saves to lead the Patriots on Senior Day Sunday against No. 21 Richmond.
Donohue notched an impressive .515 save percentage against the league's No. 2 scoring attack. What's more, with Mason battling yellow card trouble, eight of the 16 goals allowed by Donohue came on extra man opportunities for the Spiders.
The Patriots trailed Richmond by just two (5-3) at halftime, but the Spiders pulled away in the second half to take an 18-9 victory inside George Mason Stadium.
The Spiders took advantage of an 18-7 edge in draw controls for the game to control possession, notching a 44-22 edge in shots. Mason picked up 17 ground balls and forced 11 Richmond turnovers, but it wasn't quite enough as the nationally-ranked Spiders were able to come away with the victory.
Offensively, junior
Deanna Balsama led Mason with a hat trick and put six of her eight shots on goal. Four other Patriots scored in the contest, including seniors
Niki Baker,
Erin Donoghue and
Christina Romano.
Defensively, senior
Ali Johnston caused a pair of turnovers and picked up a career-high five ground balls to lead the Green & Gold.
Baker, Donoghue, Johnston and Romano were honored in a pre-game senior ceremony, alongside fellow seniors
Melissa Capri,
Olivia O'Brien,
Sasha Silva and
Holliston Wagner.
After nearly eight scoreless minutes, Richmond struck first, but Mason answered on a nifty goal from Balsama at the 17:20 mark of the first half. After the Spiders went up 2-1, Mason again notched the equalizer on Baker's unassisted goal at 13:25.
The Spiders scored three-straight goals to build a 5-2 edge, but Balsama struck again at 7:28 to pull the Patriots within two (5-3).
Richmond came out firing in the second half, scoring six-consecutive goals to go up 11-3 with 20:06 to play. Reed scored at 17:52 to make it 11-4, but two more from Richmond increased the lead to nine (13-4) and Mason could not move closer than eight for the remainder of the contest.
The Patriots return to action on Friday with a 4 p.m. contest at VCU.
