FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason women's lacrosse earned a gritty 10-9 win at home over Duquesne on Saturday afternoon, picking up their first Atlantic 10 victory of the season in a physical battle at RAC Field on Alumni Day.
Before the opening draw, senior Lauren Distad was honored for becoming the program's all-time leader in career draw controls. She wasted no time adding to her legacy, posting a career-high four goals in the game to go along with 10 draw controls, an assist, two ground balls, and a caused turnover.
Distad came out the gates firing, notching two goals in the first four minutes of the game. Duquesne responded with two goals of their own, but junior Kaitlyn Bestick stopped the run with a goal of her own, and then Distad put one away for her first hat trick of the season to end the quarter, 4-2.
In the second quarter, freshman Camryn Myers opened up the scoring, putting one in the back of the net at the 12:16 mark. The Dukes answered with a goal 30 seconds later, but freshman Catherine Pollard matched them off an assist from Distad just a minute later. Distad netted her fourth goal of the game less than a minute after that to put the Patriots up 7-3. Duquesne then made a three-goal run to bring the game to within one goal headed into the break.
The second half was a defense battle. The entire game had been physical on both ends, and neither team scored for the first seven minutes of the third quarter. Duquesne struck first, netting the tying goal at 7:48. Bestick put in her second of the game just a few minutes later, and freshman Giselle Torain added another with 1:20 left on the clock to put the Patriots up two headed into the final 15 minutes of play.
In the fourth, the Dukes scored almost immediately, cutting the Patriots' lead to just one. But junior Kate Anders answered a few minutes later to give George Mason their two-goal cushion back. For 11 minutes, neither team scored, both teams refusing to let up. With less than a minute left, Duquesne scored, but it was too late. Distad won the final draw control and the Patriots maintained possession until the final buzzer, bringing the alumni-filled crowd to it's feet as the Green & Gold secured their first A-10 victory of the season.
PATRIOT POINTS
UP NEXT
The Patriots travel to St. Bonaventure, New York to face the Bonnies next week for a midweek matchup. They'll play on Wednesday, April 12, at 12 p.m.
