FAIRFAX, Va. – With its' dominant 20-6 win over Howard on Thursday night, the George Mason women's lacrosse team is off to its' best start in program history at 4-0.
 
Led by a career-high 13 draw controls by Lauren Distad and a season-high five goals from Shannon Tuozzo, the Patriots led from start to finish to move to 4-0 on the season.
 
Mason opened the game with two goals in less than three minutes by Dahlia Trippel and Chloe Reed before the Bison (0-3) tallied their first of the night. It was a high-scoring quarter as the Patriots scored 10 goals, led by four from Shannon Tuozzo as Mason took a 10-3 lead into the break.
 
The Patriots extended their lead in the second, limiting Howard to just one goal in the frame. Rookie Daniella Jimenez scored the first two goals of her young career within 45 seconds of each other to extend the Mason lead to 14-4 at the 3:20 mark. Morgan Gunn converted on a power play opportunity in the closing minute of the half to push the lead to 11.
 
After a brief weather delay three minutes into the third quarter, both teams took some time to get back into the swing of the game. The Bison scored the first two goals of the stanza, but a goal from Kate Anders pushed the lead back to 10 (16-6) with a quarter to go.
 
Strong defense highlighted the fourth quarter for Mason, as the hosts held Howard scoreless in the final 15 minutes. Maddie Charland scored two of Mason's four fourth-quarter goals, marking her first of the season, to close out the scoring in the final minutes.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• 12 Patriots tallied at least a point, while nine tallied multiple points and seven scored multiple goals
• Chloe Reed notched her second hat trick of the season to go with a career-high-matching two assists
• Defensively, Melanie Hutchinson led the way with two caused turnovers and a ground ball, as the Patriots forced Howard into 17 turnovers
• Meghan Deehan got the start in goal for the Patriots, making two saves, while Regan Bestick got her first minutes in the Green & Gold, making two saves and allowing just two goals
• Mason won the draw battle, 16-13, and the ground ball battle, 14-11

 
UP NEXT
The Patriots get back on the road this weekend when they travel to North Carolina to take on Gardner-Webb on Sunday, Feb. 25.