KENT, Ohio – The George Mason women's lacrosse team kept rolling on the road on Saturday, downing Kent State 13-6 to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2000.
 
The Patriots (3-0) were led by Shannon Tuozzo on both ends of the field, posting a team-high six draw controls, four goals and three caused turnovers. Her goal total was a season-high while the three caused turnovers was a career-high.
 
Mason opened the game with two goals by Tuozzo and Ohio-native Peyton Farley to take a 2-0 lead just over five minutes in. The Golden Flames (0-2) responded with two of their own to tie the game at the 4:30 mark, but Dahlia Trippel scored two of her own in the final two minutes to push the Patriots' lead back to two after the first quarter.
 
Morgan Gunn assisted on a goal by Chloe Reed and then scored one of her own to give Mason a four-goal lead halfway through the second quarter. However, Kent State once again responded with two goals to cut the lead in half and Mason led 6-4 at half. 
 
It was all Patriots in the second half, as the defense allowed just three shots and two goals in the second 30 minutes. Kate Elam opened the second half by dishing out two assists to Tuozzo and Kaitlyn Bestick to push the Mason lead back to four. The Golden Flames briefly stopped the run with a goal at the 5:15 mark, but Reed responded less than two minutes later to give the Patriots a 9-5 lead with one to go. 
 
The Patriots held Kent State scoreless for the next 15+ minutes as Elam notched a goal and Tuozzo scored two more. The Golden Flashes scored their final tally with just under two minutes remaining, but Trippel completed her hat trick with 19 seconds on the clock to give the Patriots the 13-6 victory.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Seven Patriots tallied a point, with Tuozzo (4), Trippel (3) and Reed (2) tallying multiple goals
• Kate Elam led the Patriots with three assists, setting a new career-high
• Off the bench, Kaitlyn Bestick filled the stat sheet with three draw controls, two caused turnovers, two ground balls, a goal and an assist
• As a team, Mason was 18-18 in clears, while limiting Kent State to 17-21
• The Patriots committed just 11 turnovers, a season-low, compared to 17 by the Golden Flashes

 
UP NEXT
The Patriots will return to George Mason Stadium on Thursday, Feb. 22, for a 5 p.m. matchup with Howard.