FAIRFAX, Va. – In a game that carried heavy playoff implications, the George Mason women's lacrosse team was up to the task, downing St. Bonaventure 13-10.
 
Graduate student Meghan Deehan anchored a solid Mason defense, matching her career-high of 15 saves while scooping up two ground balls. Classmate Shannon Tuozzo scored a game-high five goals and dished out an assist while winning four draw controls in a comprehensive outing.
 
Tuozzo opened the scoring just 37 into the game to give the Patriots (9-6, 3-4) the lead in a game that they would never trail in. The teams traded goals and were tied 2-2 with just under nine minutes to go, before Mason scored back-to-back goals for the first time to close the first quarter and take a 4-2 lead into the break.
 
The Bonnies (7-8, 3-4) scored two of the first three goals to open the second to get within one, but Mason responded with six of the next seven goals, spanning the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third to open up a six-goal lead (11-5) with 11:40 to go in the third. Tuozzo and classmate Chloe Reed led the way with two goals apiece in the run.
 
St. Bonaventure pushed Mason down the stretch, outscoring them 5-2 in the final 25 minutes of the game, but seven second half saves by Deehan held off the comeback. The Mason defense held strong, killing two penalties in the final 16 minutes en route to the win.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Chloe Reed (3) and Dahlia Trippel (2) also tallied double-digit goals for Mason
• On defense, Tuozzo and Ciara Curtis scooped up a team-high three ground balls
• Mason won the draw control battle, 17-10, led by a career-high eight wins from Kaitlyn Bestick
• With the win, Mason is in solid contention for an Atlantic 10 postseason spot with just two games to play in the regular season

 
UP NEXT
Mason will play its' last regular season road game at La Salle on Saturday, April 20. Opening draw with the Explorers is set for 1 p.m.