The George Mason High School Mustangs girls soccer team destroyed the Strasburg Rams in the semifinal of the bull run district tournament with the score of 10-1.
The Mason girls did not waste any time scoring in the first minute of the game with a goal from senior Kim Kenny. Kenny went on to score another three times throughout the game.
After the first goal, the Rams had no chance to recover thanks to sophomore Violet Miller, who scored two goals in two minutes making it 3-0 Mason in the first three minutes of the game. It was a one sided game. The Rams rarely came over to the Mason half of the field.
The Mason girls had possession of the ball and put pressure on the Strasburg midfield forcing them to play a kick and run game, which led the Mason defense to collect the ball at the half line to serve to the Mason strikers.
Senior Karen Hamil, who had a strong offensive game, had an open line on her side of the field, often passing right by the Rams players before serving a good cross ball for Mason to capitalize on.
With 11 minutes left in the first half, Strasburg had a corner kick which was the best offensive chance they were able to produce in the first half.
The game continued and Mason made Strasburg senior goalkeeper Dara Dillman work hard with shots both outside and inside the penalty box.
Going into the second half, it was already 7-0 with the Mason girls who were the strongest team on every position on the field. The second half didn’t have the same tempo and intensity from Mason, as Strasburg stressed the Mustangs defensive line. The game was still dominated by Mason but they didn’t crash the net.
A smart tactical move from Mason Head Coach Jennifer Parson, who wanted the team to try different combinations to score goals.
With 30 minutes left in the game Mason sophomore Violet Miller collected the ball at the top of the penalty box and dribbled past two Strasburg defenders and shot the ball in the net with no possibility for Dillman to save it. Miller completed her hat trick, the second Mason player who had a hat trick, the first one being Kenny.
Toward the end of the game a Strasburg striker made it through Mason’s defensive line, setting up for a free kick outside the Mason penalty box.
Some miscommunication between the Mason goalkeeper and the defensive wall created a big hole for Strasburg’s sophomore Jenna Swanson to put the ball in, and she made no mistake placing it in back of the net with seconds left in the game.
The goal didn’t help much; when the final whistle blew it was 10-1 Mason.
Coming off strong with her 4 goals, senior Kenny said, “We started out great with three goals in the first three minutes. We came out with great intensity and were dangerous inside the box.”
Parson agreed.
“The way we came out today with the early lead you can’t ask for more then that,” said Parson
Parson added that she was satisfied with the team’s play, and especially with Kenny.
“She was great. She is usually our glue in the middle and she was great offensively today.”
George Mason played Madison County in the Bull Run final, after Madison beat Clark County in their semifinal with 1-0 on goal from Ivy Jacobs with 35 seconds left in game.
The Bull Run District Tournament final was held Wednesday night, with results too late for press.