This post was written by Hatchet reporter Scott Nover.
A 2-1 victory gave GW (7-2-0) its first win in program history over George Mason (2-7-0) Saturday.
The Colonials had never topped the Patriots in 22 matchups between the two squads, but goals from junior midfielder Nicole Belfonti and sophomore forward MacKenzie Cowley gave GW the edge in the Revolutionary Rivalry game and its seventh win of the season, equalling the team’s win total from 2013 in the last game of the non-conference season.
The Colonials outmuscled their opponents and strung together several runs, though misplaced passes thwarted several of their drives before the attack could take the ball to the net. George Mason outshot GW 7-5 in the first half, and ended the game by the same margin, 13-11.
Still, in the 16th minute, Belfonti was able to take advantage of a ball in a tough spot when she directed a strike from thirty yards out on the right, off the underside of the crossbar and into the net in the top left corner of the net for her third goal of the year.
“Belfonti has that ability to really strike the ball from anywhere,” head coach Sarah Barnes said.
Both teams locked down on defense for the rest of the half, preventing any more goals and generating some shots through the counterattack. GW recorded five shots with three on target in the opening frame while redshirt freshman goalkeeper Miranda Horn produced four saves to keep the Patriots goalless.
The Colonials midfield soaked up most of the Patriots’ offense in the beginning of the second half, showing the team defense that Barnes has stressed throughout the season. George Mason threatened at times but was consistently blocked by players all over the field.
GW doubled its advantage in the 59th minute when senior defender Madison Davis sent a corner kick to senior midfielder Elizabeth Casey, whose shot Cowley deflected into the net for her team-leading fifth goal of the season.
“All I remember was I was running near the post, the ball went to Davis, and when I turned the ball was coming right at me, so I just hit it in,” Cowley said.
Cowley said she has adopted a trial-and-error mentality for scoring, which has contributed to her success. The sudden need to act on Casey’s ball put her way of thinking into action Saturday, making Cowley ready to score on any ball.
“I’ve just been trying to make a lot of different runs this year. I’ve been trying to check to the ball and also getting behind,” said Cowley. “So I feel like varying it up this year has been helping me a lot.”
But after securing the 2-0 lead, the Colonials started to look shaky. Plays were jumbled and balls were lost in crucial spots as the George Mason midfield opened up to create more chances on goal.
“I think it’s really common for a team to become conservative, and that’s when you make mistakes,” Barnes said. “I think we were sitting too far back on the ball and playing it safe and gave them too much time and space on the ball.”
In the 69th minute, the Patriots’ sophomore midfielder Brenna Connell crossed in a clean assist to her teammate, freshman forward Erin Mitchell, who scored to cut the GW lead in half, denying Horn the clean sheet. Horn finished with five saves.
Barnes said the team was not marking in the box, letting George Mason get easy chances that led to the goal.
Both teams looked erratic at the end of the game, and as fatigue crept in for the Colonials, the Patriots’ attack spent more time testing GW. Ultimately, George Mason never capitalized, and the Colonials escaped the nail-biter.
Despite the shaky finish, GW got the win to round out a strong non-conference season. While George Mason is an Atlantic 10 competitor, the game did not count as part of conference play.
GW next takes the field in the A-10 opener Friday in Philadelphia against LaSalle, who GW defeated in the regular season last year before losing to the Explorers in the A-10 tournament.
