FAIRFAX, Va. – The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse downed George Mason, 12-7, in Atlantic 10 action at George Mason Stadium on Friday evening. With the win, the Hawks stand at 5-10 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
Tied 4-4 in the final 23 seconds of the first half, Saint Joseph's sophomore attack Bonnie McShane registered her first goal of the season to put the Hawks ahead, 5-4, heading into the halftime break.
Saint Joseph's (5-10, 2-4 A-10) then saw back-to-back goals from freshman attack Sarah Smith and McShane to extend its lead by three goals, 7-4, just 2:53 into the second half.
George Mason (7-8, 1-5 A-10) struck back on a pair of consecutive tallies to pull to within one, 7-6, with 18:20 left to play.
From there, the Hawks exploded for five unanswered goals that spanned 10:35 as the Crimson and Gray jumped out to a 12-6 advantage with under four minutes to play. McShane tallied two goals during that run.
The Patriots added another score as Caitlin McGinn tucked one away with 55 seconds remaining in regulation, but Saint Joseph's 5-0, second-half run ultimately made the difference.
George Mason scored first, and the Patriots and Hawks would alternate in goal scoring four times before McShane's first goal of the game with 23 seconds remaining in the first served as SJU's spark heading into the second half.
Saint Joseph's owned advantages in both shots (23-18) and ground balls (12-8) and held a 12-9 edge in draw controls. The Hawks forced 21 Patriot turnovers and committed just 14 in comparison.
McShane boasted a career-high four goals and added an assist to lead the Hawks in scoring. McShane took four shots on the day and found the back of George Mason's net on all of them for a 1.000 percentage. Senior midfielder Michele Granger and junior midfielder Julia Falcone also added multi-goal games.
Freshman defender Maggie Egan got the starting nod on the defensive line this afternoon and dished out one assist and added two ground balls in her first collegiate start. Classmate Nora McCallion turned in a game-high seven draw controls and also dished out an assist. Sophomore midfielders Courtney Emanuele (1G, 1A) and Kelly Phelan (1G) and junior attack Hallie Pickard (1G) added to the scoring while in her first game back since April 4, senior attack Val Paolucci dished out an assist to move to 99 career points.
Sophomore goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin (5-10, 2-4 A-10) made five first-half goals en route to seven on the day in a full-game effort.
Saint Joseph's will conclude the regular season at George Washington this Sunday, April 27. Start time at the GW Lacrosse Field in Washington is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
