George Mason (6-1, 0-0 A-10) vs. Massachusetts (1-4, 0-0 A-10)
WHEN: Saturday, 12 p.m.
WHERE: George Mason Stadium; Fairfax, Va.
LAST MEETING: UMass won, 23-4, in Amherst, Mass. on April 29, 2023
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's lacrosse team will open the conference portion of the season on Saturday when it welcomes Atlantic 10 perennial power UMass to Fairfax.
 
The Patriots are looking for their first-ever win over the Minutewomen, as UMass has won all nine meetings in program history. The two teams have played all contests as members of the Atlantic 10.
 
Mason is off to its' best start in program history, and got back in the win column on Monday afternoon with a dominant 19-6 win over Delaware State. On the other hand, UMass fell on the road at Dartmouth, 15-9, on Tuesday.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Shannon Tuozzo leads the Patriots and the Atlantic 10 with 3.86 goals per game, and has scored a hat trick in all but one game this season
• The graduate student also leads the team in points (32) and ground balls (17) and is second in caused turnovers (7) and draw controls (37)
• Four other Patriots have tallied double-figure goals: Dahlia Trippel (15), Chloe Reed (13), Morgan Gunn (12) and Peyton Farley (11)
• Pacing the offense is riley Ellis, who has dished out a team-high eight assists on the year
• Defensively, Kaitlyn Besick has tallied a team-high eight caused turnovers
• Lauren Distad leads the team with 48 draw controls, and her 6.86 are good for second in the Atlantic 10. As a team this season, Mason is winning the draw control battle 113-67

 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
After earning a No. 20 ranking in the IWLCA preseason poll, the Minutewomen have opened the season at 1-4, with their lone win coming over Long Island University four games into the season. UMass has not played an easy schedule however, falling to No. 2 Boston College in its' opener and dropping games to two Ivy League schools.
 
Leading the UMass offense are Kassidy Morris (16) and Charlotte Wilmouth (11), who have tallied double-figure scoring for the team. Fiona McGowan paces the offense with eight assists to go with eight goals and is second on the team with 16 points. At the draw circle, Jordan Dean leads the team and conference with over 10 draw controls per game.
 
Defensively, Lauren Tolve leads the Minutewomen with nine caused turnovers on the season and is second with 10 ground balls. Starting goal keeper Catrina Tobin leads the squad with 12 ground balls and has played all 300 minutes in net, making 37 saves on the year.
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots will travel to Longwood for their final non-conference matchup on Wednesday, March 13. Opening draw is set for 4 p.m.