Fairfax, Va. -
The College William and
Mary's 17th
-ranked women's lacrosse team used tenacious defense and
an opportunistic offense to scrap out a hard-fought 6-5 win at George Mason
University on Friday evening.
"We had a little difficulty getting the ball in the back of
the net," said W&M Head Coach Christine Halfpenny. "A lot of credit has to
go to George Mason's keeper, Brittany Pastrana, because she was a difference
maker this evening. But, the story of
the game was our transition and settle defense.
We remained poised and rose to every challenge."
The game was the Tribe's conference opener and improved the
team's record to 6-4 on the year. The
Patriots fell to 3-8 on the year and 0-2 in league play.
Overall, the Tribe's attack generated 30 shots (to Masons'
10), while the Green and Gold defense matched its attack by creating 30
turnovers.
After Mason ended a back-and-forth first half with a slim
5-4 lead, the game turned on the Tribe's ability to control the defensive end
of the field and possess the ball. The
Tribe allowed only two shots over the final 30 minutes of play, including none
of the final 17 minutes.
In the second half, the Tribe's Jenny Michael equalized the
game off a helper from senior forward Ashley Holofcener with 26:11
remaining. The College went ahead for
good after Kyrstin Mackrides found twine with 22:16 (her 20th
score
of the season). From that point
forward, senior keeper Emily Geary (three saves) combined with the midfield and
defense to preserve the lead.
Perhaps the biggest plays of the contest for the College
came in the last two minutes, with George Mason threatening in the offensive
third, Tribe seniors in Grace Golden and Molly Wannen stepped up large to
create defensive stops. Wannen's effort
came after she broke up a Patriot pass attempt and then collected a decisive
ground ball with just 27 seconds remaining.
Overall, Tewaarton Award (the lacrosse
equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) candidate Sarah Johnson led the game with
three caused turnovers and also contributed three ground balls. Junior Denise Lenihan played one of her
finest collegiate games in her hometown of Fairfax by gaining six-ground balls.
The Tribe received first half goals from senior attacker Maggie
Anderson (24th
on the season), Golden (36), Mackrides and junior
Stephanie Steinweg (5).
William and Mary's next action will come this Sunday, as they
face off against conference arch-rival James Madison. The opening draw is schedule to take place at
1:00 pm.
