TOWSON, Md. – Senior attacker Laura King (Springfield H.S./Springfield, Va.) scored a game-high four goals and added an assist as 12th-ranked George Mason University (9-2, 2-1) overcame an early four-goal deficit to earn its eighth win in the last nine games, a 13-10 Colonial Athletic Association victory over 19th-ranked Towson University (9-4, 3-1) at the Tigers' Johnny Unitas Stadium on Friday evening. The win snapped the Patriots' five-game losing streak against the Tigers. It also snapped the Tigers' five-game home win streak.

Led by two goals from sophomore midfielder Nikki Marcinik (Southern H.S./Deale, Md.), the Tigers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first nine minutes. However, the Patriots countered with a four-goal of their own over a 15-minute span to tie the game at 4-4 with 5:01 remaining in the first half. Junior attacker Brittany Berger (Hereford H.S./White Hall, Md.) scored two free-position goals during the spurt.

With 56 seconds remaining in the first half, junior midfielder Hillary Fratzke (Queen Anne's County H.S./Centreville, Md.) scored an unassisted goal to give the Tigers a 5-4 lead at the intermission. It also extended her streak of consecutive games with a point to 45 straight games and marked the 39th consecutive game in which she has scored a goal, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I.

After the teams traded goals to start the second half, the Patriots took a 9-6 lead by scoring four straight goals over a six-minute span. King started the rally with her first goal of the game, an unassisted marker past senior goalkeeper Mandy Corry (West Essex H.S./North Caldwell, N.J.).

Junior attacker Meggie McNamara (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius H.S.) ended a nearly 17-minute drought for the Tigers when she scored her 21st goal of the season off an assist from senior attacker Ali Alati (Montclair Kimberley Academy/Glen Ridge, N.J.) with 11:41 remaining.

After the teams traded goals, King tallied back-to-back markers to extend the Patriots' advantage to 12-8 with 3:31 remaining. Junior attacker Cassie Krause (Mount Hebron H.S./Ellicott City, Md.) narrowed the margin to 12-9 by scoring an unassisted goal with 1:09 left before freshman midfielder Chelsea Gamble (Moorestown H.S./Moorestown, N.J.) converted a Berger pass to regain the three-goal advantage.

With six seconds left, sophomore attacker Jacie Kendall (Souderton H.S./Harleysville, Pa.) scored an unassisted goal for the Tigers, but George Mason won the ensuing draw control in the final seconds to secure the victory.

"Physically, we were ready to go tonight, but mentally, we just fell apart," Towson Coach Missy Doherty said. "We need to be ready to play confident the entire game. They tightened up defensively tonight and forced us to become undisciplined on offense."

While King led the Patriots with her five-point effort, Berger added two goals and two assists. Senior midfielder Megan Bartlett (Eastern Regional H.S./Voorhees, N.J.) added a goal with two assists in the victory.

Sophomore goalkeeper Sara Longobucco (North Shore H.S./Sea Cliff, N.Y.) made eight saves for the Patriots, who were outshot by a 32-27 margin. The Tigers were led by Fratzke, Marcinik and Kendall, who each scored two goals.

The Tigers will play their final home game of the regular season on Sunday afternoon when they host James Madison on Senior Day at 1:00 p.m. Prior to the opening draw, the Tigers will honor their seven seniors on the occasion of their final home regular season game at Unitas Stadium.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
George Mason Univ...  4  9 - 13
Towson University...  5  5 - 10
 
Attendance: 584
 
George Mason Univ. SCORING:
GOALS: King,Laura 4; Berger,Brittany 2; Jamison,Madalyn 2; Gamble,Chelsea 2;
       Bartlett,Megan 1; Udovich,Megan 1; Maurizi,Cristina 1.
ASSISTS: Bartlett,Megan 2; Berger,Brittany 1; Chan,Alana 1; King,Laura 1.
 
Towson University SCORING:
GOALS: Fratzke, Hillary 2; Marcinik, Nikki 2; Kendall, Jacie 2; Woodfield,
       Britt 1; McNamara, Meggie 1; Taylor, Steph 1; Krause, Cassie 1.
ASSISTS: Alati, Ali 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
George Mason Univ... 11 16 - 27
Towson University... 18 14 - 32
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
George Mason Univ... 15  9 - 24
Towson University... 12  8 - 20
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
George Mason Univ...  3  8 - 11
Towson University...  7  6 - 13
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
George Mason Univ...  8-12  9-12 - 17-24
Towson University...  9-12  6-9  - 15-21
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
George Mason Univ...  3-5   1-2  -  4-7
Towson University...  0-3   1-3  -  1-6
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
George Mason Univ...  4  4 -  8
Towson University...  3  3 -  6
 
FOULS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
George Mason Univ... 17 22 - 39
Towson University... 17 14 - 31
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
George Mason Univ... 11 11 - 22
Towson University... 12 10 - 22

2008-04-11