FAIRFAX, Va. - Freshman midfielder Sophia Kolkka registered her first collegiate hat trick, but the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse squad suffered a 16-11 setback at George Mason in Atlantic 10 action on Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 9-6 overall (5-2 A-10) while the Patriots improve to 10-5 overall (6-1 A-10).

Kolkka led all SJU goal scorers with her three-goal performance while senior attacker Hayley Sabol added a team-high four points (1g, 3a) and junior midfielder Penny Green chipped in two goals and one assist.

George Mason jumped ahead with a pair of early scores before Kolkka (1H, 27:58), Green (1H, 26:34), and junior midfielder Bridget Cerciello (1H, 24:34) put together a go-ahead run to take a 3-2 edge.

The Patriots then scored three straight before Kolkka (1H 17:10, 15:30) and senior attacker Francesca Donato (1H, 11:26) scored three of the game's next four to even out the scoring, 6-6.

Saint Joseph's and George Mason would then alternate in scoring with a pair of goals apiece to take an 8-8 score into the final 4:03 of the first half, but the Patriots went on a significant three-goal run to close out the first and open the second half; from that point, the home team would lead by two or more goals for the remainder of the game and put away four of the final five goals of regulation.

George Mason turned in a dominant showing from the circle, winning 21 of the game's 29 possessions from the draw.

Of note on the defensive end, senior Sinead Brierley was brilliant with team-high numbers in ground balls (4) and caused turnovers (3).

Freshman goalkeeper Amber Weedon (4-3, 2-1 A-10) made eight saves in the full 60:00.

Saint Joseph's returns home to host La Salle this Sunday, April 14. Opening draw control is set for 1:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field, with Senior Day to follow the game.