Mustangs Best Eagles Again; Claim State Championship

Oftentimes in sports, timing is everything, and the George Mason High School girls team picked a quite opportune time to turn in their best performance of the year, capturing their second State Championship in three years with a convincing 3-1 victory over rival Clarke County at Radford University Saturday.

Once again it was a dominant second half performance, complimented by a sterling performance by sophomore goalie Alex Pender and the Mustang defense that snatched the second title from the Eagles’ grasp in as many weeks. On June 5, the Mustangs scored three second half goals to claim the Region B title and top Clarke County for the first time all season.

Trailing 1-0 four minutes into the second half, Senior Alison Penland scored the equalizer on a “Hail Mary,” 25-yard shot that floated over Clarke goalie Courtney Peake for the goal. Penland struck again 18-minutes later, sending a corner kick from junior Christina Kirkbride into the back of the net for the eventual game winner.

The Eagles refused to fade away however. Clarke freshman Leslie Hardesty gathered a pass inside the box and loosed a shot, forcing Pender to make a point blank save and dive on the rebound to end the threat.

In the 78th minute, four minutes after the excitement in front of Mason net, freshman Katie Turner twinkled the twine with a shot from just outside the box to ice the game for Mason.

Throughout the game the Mustang defense controlled the talented Eagle forwards, shutting down the Bull Run District Player of the Year Kathe Krumich for the duration of the game, with Clarke’s lone tally coming from freshman Keely McCall in the 35th, who gutted through the game with a sprained ankle suffered in a previous contest.

The come-from-behind victory is the second for the Mustangs in as many games against Clarke. Mason rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the Region B Finals to claim that championship as well.

“Mason peaked when they needed to peak — at the perfect moment,” Assistant Coach Bob Penland said. The Mustangs closed out their 14-6-1 record with five consecutive wins.

The Mason girls also earned the Wachovia VHSL Sportsmanship Trophy for their exemplary conduct throughout the tournament.

The Mustangs have appeared in the State Finals in all three years since Group A schools have held a state tournament, last year they fell short against Brentsville. Four of Mason’s girls, Kirkbride, Penland, junior Rachel Sweeney and senior Amanda Harrington, were also members of the 2002 championship squad.

Prior to Saturday’s victory, Clarke had defeated Mason in two regular season matches and in the Bull Run District Championship. The loss by the Eagles is only the third all season for a vastly improved team that qualified for the State Championship for the first time in their history.