PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team encountered a quick scoring George Mason team that found its stride in the second half en route to a 17-11 loss on Saturday at Finnesey Field. Jenna Martino scored a hat trick and added an assist while Helen Tursi chipped in with two goals and an assist.

George Mason (2-2) outscored the Hawks, 11-4, over the final 31:13 to put the game away. Reserve Megan Udovich scored her first goals of the 2009 season, all six, on Saturday afternoon to lead all scorers.

Saint Joseph's (3-2) led 7-6 after a three-goal spurt by Grace Dinn, Meghan McDevitt and Martino. Dinn's tally was helped by Abby Renninger's second assist of the season. Martino's goal was assisted by Jen Peters her third of the year.

The game featured several runs, first a 3-0 advantage to start the game for the Hawks. Renninger, Tursi and Jessica Westlake scored on consecutive tallies in the first 6:09. The Patriots answered with five straight goals of their own over the next 14:10.

Marino and Udovich traded goals shortly after that, setting up the three-goal run that gave the Hawks a 7-6 lead.

GMU scored seven of the next eight markers with the lone SJU tally coming from Westlake. Martino and McDevitt broke the 7-1 run by the Patriots with 11:33 to go, cutting the deficit to three at 13-10.

Three more goals by Mason pushed the lead to 16-10 with three more tallied with 4:52 remaining. Tursi added another with 1:11 to go before another Patriots goal capped the scoring at 17-11.

SJU out-shot GMU, 33-27 and had advantages in ground balls (23-21), and draw controls (17-13). Suzy Herlihy made eight saves for the Hawks, while Mason's Sara Longobucco made 15 saves for the victors.

The Hawks will return to action on Wednesday when they take on Rutgers. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m. on Finnesey Field.

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PHILADELPHIA (March 7, 2009) – George Mason outscored Saint Joseph's 10-4 in the second half on its way to a 17-11 victory in nonconference women's lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon at Finnesey Field in Philadelphia, Pa. With the win, the Patriots improved their record to 2-2 on the season.

Mason netted the final score of the first half to tie the score at seven heading into the intermission. Freshman Emily Ellisen notched the tying goal with 1:13 remaining in the half.

After trading goals to begin the second half, the Patriots went on a 5-0 run to turn an 8-8 deadlock into a 13-8 advantage. Junior Megan Udovich came off the bench to spark Mason's offense, scoring three of her five second-half goals in the run. Udovich scored a total of six in the game.

Six Patriots scored more than one goal in the game. Included in the group were Udovich (6), senior Alana Chan (3), senior Brittany Berger (2), Ellisen (2), sophomore Chelsea Gamble (2) and freshman Julianne Tela (2). Brittany Berger added three assists for a total of five points. She also caused a team-high three turnovers in the contest.

Jenna Martino scored three goals to lead Saint Joseph's (3-2). Christine Readinger led the Hawks' defense with four caused turnovers, four ground balls and three draw controls.

Junior goalkeeper Sara Longobucco made 15 saves, including 10 in the second half, in a winning effort. Suzy Herlihy made eight stops for Saint Joseph's.

After beginning the season with four consecutive road contests, George Mason plays its home opener on Saturday, March 14 against Boston University. The opening draw is slated for 1:00 p.m.

2009-03-07