The George Mason boys lacrosse team experienced the bitter taste of defeat for the first time this week, but not before registering another win in their already impressive season.

On Friday night, the Mustangs upset Heritage High School in a back-and-forth Dulles District battle, 12-11. Heritage broke open an early lead, but the Mustangs were not to be discouraged. They fought back in the second half, using their defense anchored by seniors Sean Mondragon and Russell Intermaggio to clamp down on Heritage’s high-octane offense. The teams traded the lead throughout the fourth quarter before a few clutch saves by senior goalie Ewan Oglethorpe (19 saves total) and a last-minute goal by Yates Jordan propelled the Mustangs to the victory. As of Friday night, the Mustangs were an undefeated 7-0 and had already won more games this season than they did total last season.

Starting a season 7-0, however, firmly plants a bulls-eye on your back, as the Mustangs found out on Monday night, when they traveled to Ashburn to take on the Spartans out of Broad Run High School. Mason ran straight into a Spartan buzzsaw, losing 19-9 in a game that was much closer than the score suggests. The Mustang offense came out sluggish yet again, and Broad Run capitalized by taking an early six-goal lead. The Mustangs, looking for some offensive magic, narrowed the deficit to two goals early in the fourth quarter, but could not capitalize from there.

The Spartans tore the Mustang defense apart, scoring most of their goals on fast breaks and transitions. Penalties also played a factor towards the end of the game, as the Mustangs began playing man-down defense much of the time, allowing the Spartans to blow the game wide open.

The Mustangs look to avenge their first loss of the season at home tonight (Thursday), as they welcome Potomac Falls High School at 7:30 p.m.