FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's lacrosse team gave the nationally-ranked Spiders all they could handle on Wednesday night, as Richmond escaped the upset in overtime, 15-14.
 
Shannon Tuozzo led the Patriots (6-5, 0-3) with five points on four goals and one assist while rookie Daniella Jimenez returned to the lineup with a career-high four goals on six shots.
 
The Spiders (7-2, 3-0) jumped ahead 3-0 in the opening seven minutes of the first quarter, before Kaitlyn Bestick got Mason on the board at the 6:14 mark of the opening frame. Richmond responded to push the lead back to three, but the Patriots scored twice in the final two minutes, including with nine seconds remaining to get within one, 4-3.
 
It was more back-and-forth in the second quarter as Mason and Richmond combined for 13 goals in 15 minutes. The Spiders scored four of the opening six goals of the second to push their lead back to three, but three-straight Mason tallies, including two from Jimenez, knotted the game at eight-all. Richmond closed the half on a 3-1 run to take a two-goal lead (11-9) into the halftime break.
 
It was all Mason in the third quarter, as three-different Patriots scored a goal each while the Mason defense locked downed and held the Spiders scoreless. Anchored by two saves from goalkeeper Regan Bestick, who checked in at the half, Mason entered the fourth leading 12-11.
 
Jimenez opened the fourth quarter with her fourth goal of the night to give Mason a two-goal lead, but Richmond scored the next two goals to tie the game at 13-all with 7:27 on the clock. Tuozzo then scored her fourth just over a minute later to give Mason back the lead. The teams traded shots, saves and turnovers down the stretch, until Richmond's Ali Susskind found the equalizer with just 26 seconds in regulation to force overtime.
 
Both teams had opportunities on offense in the overtime period, as Bestick made a save to give the Patriots a chance on the other end. However, the Spiders used stout defense to force a shot clock violation, and Ali Susskind once again found the back of the net for Richmond in the waning seconds to give the Spiders the 15-14 victory.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Tuozzo also won a game-high seven draw controls to go with her five points and a ground ball
• Dahlia Trippel led the Patriots with a career-high three ground balls to go with two goals
• Defensively, Morgan Gunn led Mason with two caused turnovers to go along with a goal and a ground ball
• Meghan Deehan started in net and made six saves, while Bestick relieved her at the half, making a career0high six saves while allowing just four goals
• As a team, Mason was a perfect 16-16 on clears

 
UP NEXT
Mason gets back on the road for a weekend matchup with Duquesne on March 23. Opening draw with the Dukes is set for noon.