Oct. 10, 2008

Box Score

Fairfax, Va. - The George Mason women's soccer team played terrific defense for the first 60 minutes of its match on Friday night against Georgia State, but a brief lull allowed the Panthers to put two balls into the back of the net as Georgia State took its first-ever win at George Mason Stadium, beating the Patriots 3-0.

The Patriots gave up an own goal in the first half and that was the only mark on the scoreboard heading into the 60th minute. The teams had played a very even match in nearly every category and both teams played as if the game was still scoreless. Finally, in the 60th minute, the Panthers broke through behind the Colonial Athletic Association's top forward.

Kay Harbrueger chased down a ball deep in the Mason third, got behind the defense on the left side and blasted the ball into the net at the far post. Fifteen minutes later, in the game's 75th minute, Harbrueger struck again, this time on a header by off a cross from Stephanie Cuccia. It was Harbrueger's 14th goal of the year. Heidi Blankenship, meanwhile, stopped four shots in net.

Mason got a strong performance by Kelly Keelan in net as she stopped five shots, but two sneaked through, one being the own goal. The final goal for Georgia State came against Melissa Mailley, as Keelan came out of net and moved to forward for the final 15 minutes.

The Patriots will return to action on Sunday when they host UNC Wilmington at 3 p.m. at George Mason Stadium.