WASHINGTON, DC – The George Washington women's lacrosse team stormed out to a 6-3 first-half lead and withstood a second-half rally to defeat William & Mary, 11-8, at Mount Vernon Field on Friday afternoon.

GW (4-4) junior Kristin Karcsh (Kennett Square, PA/Bishop Shanahan) led GW with two goals and two assists and classmate Katelyn Honeyford (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) tallied twice and added an assist as the Colonials evened the series record with the Tribe at 2-2.

Junior Lindsay Melvin (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron) started the scoring just 55 seconds into the match to give GW a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Meghan Cratty (Wilton, CT/Wilton) netted her seventh goal of the season less than five minutes later for a quick 2-0 edge.

William & Mary (2-7) got back-to-back free position goals from Jaime Sellers to knot the game at 2-2. Colonials' junior Hayley McDonough (Annapolis, MD/Annapolis) and Sellers traded goals to make it 3-3 midway through the first period, but the Colonials controlled the remainder of the half. Karcsh scored her team-leading 23rd goal of the season at the 12:12 mark, then assisted on Katelyn Honeyford's first goal of the day with 9:32 left and senior Kristina Harvey (North Falmouth, MA/Falmouth) tallied her 11th goal of the season with 4:10 remaining as GW jumped to a 6-3 advantage heading into halftime.

The Tribe rallied to tie the game at 6-6 behind a pair of goals by Kara Parker and another from Katie Rees with 22:13 left to play. Rookie Taylor Donohue (Villanova, PA/Radnor) had a hand in the next two goals, scoring on a dish from Honeyford and assisting on a goal by junior Laura Wunk (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron), as GW regained a two-goal cushion with 19:32 remaining.

The teams remained scoreless for more than 10 minutes until William & Mary's Dolly Williams netted a controversial goal at the 8:45 mark. A yellow card was issued to the Tribe bench during an offensive set, but Williams was still awarded a free-position attempt to the dismay of the GW bench. Williams converted the play to trim GW's lead to 8-7.

Captains Karcsh and Harvey took control from there. On the ensuing possession, Karcsh beat a defender, raced to the cage and beat Tribe goalkeeper Sara Beckstead to re-open a two-goal lead. Harvey sealed the victory just 37 seconds later with an acrobatic, back-handed goal that sailed over Beckstead's left shoulder.

Julia Martin gave William & Mary a fighting chance with a goal with 5:08 left, but the Colonials worked the ball around their offensive third for the final three minutes and Honeyford capped the win with her second goal of the game with eight seconds left.

Junior goalkeeper Caitlin Garman (Baltimore, MD/Friends School) was solid in net, making 10 saves, while Beckstead also finished with 10 stops. Garman also picked up a team-high five ground balls. Honeyford added three draw controls and three ground balls. Karcsh's two goals moved her into the Top 5 all-time in program history. GW outshot William & Mary 31-21 and held a 21-19 edge in ground balls.

GW begins Atlantic 10 play at No. 20 Richmond on Sunday at 1:00 pm. Fans can watch all of Sunday's action, courtesy of Richmond Athletics, by signing up for CSTV's All-Access package on GWsports.com.

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Washington, D.C. - George Washington broke a 6-6 tie with four goals in a 12-minute span midway through the second half, and the Colonials hung on to defeat William and Mary, 11-8, Friday afternoon in the nation’s capital.

Kristen Karcsh led George Washington (4-4) with four points on a two goals and two assists, including a critical second-half score that allowed the Colonials to take a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes. Katelyn Honeyford recorded three points on two goals and an assist, and Kristina Harvey added two goals.

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2007-03-30