Third Time No Charm for GMHS Girls Soccer

The No. 2 George Mason High School girls soccer team locked up with No. 1 Clarke County for the third time this season in the Bull Run District Championship, but despite the cliché, there was still no charm for the Mustangs.

Falling by a final score of 3-2, the Mustangs gave the Eagles all they could handle, repeatedly watching scoring opportunities go wide or into the able-hands of the Clarke County goaltender.

Mason failed to capitalize on several scoring opportunities near the goal mouth in the first half and Clarke made them pay, notching two goals of their own. The Mustangs rallied in the second half when in the 63rd minute of the match Katelyn Freeman redirected a pass from freshman Katie Turner in mid-air and into the back of the net. A mere ten minutes later, Freeman and senior Alison Penland, worked a give-and-go past the Clarke defense and Freeman sent a shot past the sprawling Clarke keeper from the left side of the box for her second goal of the match and knotting the score at two.

With Mason continuing to control play, the Eagles converted on one of their only scoring chances in the second half to break the tie and account for the 3-2 final score.

While the match against Clarke was a close affair, the Mustangs proved that, along with Clarke, they were far and away one of the top two teams in the Bull Run District with a resounding 9-1 defeat over Madison County last Thursday in the District Semifinals.

The Mustangs dominated the third seed, led by a Jessie Porzel hat trick and two goals from Penland. Senior defender Amanda Harrington, senior Becky Roa, junior Rachel Sweeney added individual markers and junior Samantha Wolfe added her first goal of the season to cap the route.

Moving on from the loss to Clarke, the Mustangs opened Region B Tournament with a resounding victry over Neslon County. Crisp passing and constrictive defense proved to be a lethal combination, as the Mustangs beat the Governors to the tune of a 6-0 final score..

The Mustangs scored early and often, burying their foe under an avalanche of goals. Freshman Katie Turner broke the scoreless tie in the early going crushing a penalty kick past the helpless Neslon County keeper. In the 24th minute, Jessie Porzel took a pass from senior Alison Penland and sent a shot off the post and in. Penland struck with her own goal less than a minute later, blasting home a loose rebound after the Nelson goalie failed to hold onto the ball.

Senior Becky Roa found the back of the net twice in the waning moments of the first half, one goal coming off a Penland pass and trickling off the outstretched hand of the sprawling keeper. The second came with just over three minutes remaining in the first half.

Junior Rachel Sweeney capped the scoring with a goal late in the second half to ice the victory.

As potent as its offense was, Mason allowed very few offensive chances and didn’t allow Nelson a shot on goal until 12:24 remaining in the first half. It was Nelson’s only shot of the half.

Tuesday’s game marks the final home game for seniors Penland, Roa, Amanda Harrington, and Maria Wood. Mason will travel to Buffalo Gap to face that team on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the semifinals.