Hempstead, NY -- Junior midfielder Liz Falco scored as time expired in the first overtime, and Hofstra rallied from a one-goal deficit early in the extra session, to defeat George Mason, 12-11, on Sunday afternoon at James M. Shuart Stadium.

The goal was the third of the game for Falco, who tied for game-high honors with Madalyn Jamison of George Mason and teammate junior midfielder Corrine Gandolfi. In addition to winning its fifth straight game overall, it also marked Hofstra's sixth straight win in overtime games and the Pride is now 16-3 in its last 19 overtime games.

The win improves Hofstra's overall record this season to 8-3 and its Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) mark to 2-0, while George Mason falls to 5-5 and 1-1.

Following Friday night's thrilling 13-12 double overtime victory over #20 James Madison, it marks the first time since midway through the 2001 season that Hofstra has played back-to-back overtime contests.

A balanced first half that saw six different goal scorers for the Pride would allow Hofstra to take a 6-3 lead at the break. Back-to-back goals from Jamison and Chelsea Gamble early in the contest would give George Mason a 2-1 lead at the 21:53 mark of the first half before Hofstra closed the first stanza by scoring five of the last six goals to earn the three-goal advantage.

Gandolfi, who scored Hofstra's final goal of the opening half, would score off a feed from junior midfielder Sandy Wasserbach 3:18 into the second half to push the Pride's lead up to 7-3. The lead would be at 8-4 after an unassisted goal from Gandolfi with 24:34 left in regulation before the Patriots began to mount their comeback.

George Mason would score six of the final eight goals in the second half, including two straight to end regulation (both from Brittany Berger) to send the contest into the extra session.

The Patriots got on the board first in overtime as Brittany Berger came up big again, picking up her third tally of the contest with 3:20 left to give George Mason the narrow one-goal advantage.

After a save from junior goalie Mary Cuddihy, one of her career-high tying 11 in the contest, with 1:51 to play in overtime, Hofstra would tally the equalizer with 49 seconds left as Gandolfi sent a pass to the stick of junior midifielder K'Leigh Vanaman, who found the back of the net for her first goal of the game.

Sophomore defender Bettina Mianulli would corral the ensuing draw control and Hofstra would get the possession into the offensive end with less than 30 seconds left. With time winding down, a foul was called on George Mason's Emily Ellisen and the Pride's Vanaman was set up for a free position shot with only two seconds left. When play was whistled to begin, Vanaman keenly found a wide-open Falco near the far post and the transfer from Marist ended the contest at the buzzer.

Senior defender Alysse Ruszkowski posted a game-high seven ground balls in the contest and also added two draw controls and two caused turnovers. Cuddihy added five ground balls and a caused turnover, while sophomore defender Katie Hertsch chipped in with four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Gandolfi finished with five points on three goals and two assists, while Wasserbach (two assists), junior attack Ashley Jones (two goals, one assist) and Vanaman (one goal, one assist) all joined Falco and Gandolfi with multiple points in the contest.

Jamison tied Gandolfi for game-high honors with five points (3 G, 2 A), and Brittany Berger's three goals were the final three goals of the game for the Patriots. Maggie Bridges had five ground balls and two caused turnovers for George Mason, while Alana Chan posted a game-high five draw controls. Sara Longobucco made nine saves in net for the Patriots.

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2009-04-05