The George Mason High School girls soccer team notched two more wins this past week with an 8-0 win over Rappahannock County High School on Friday and another 8-0 victory against Strasburg High School on Tuesday.
On Friday night, the Mustangs, playing on their home turf, scored four goals against the Rappahannock County Panthers in the first half. The Mustangs followed with four more goals in the first 22 minutes of the second half. The eight-goal differential initiated the slaughter rule, which ended the game 20 minutes early.
“We did a good job of moving the ball around on Friday night at a fast speed, while keeping possession,” said head coach Jennifer Parsons. “The girls were coming off a couple tough days of practice, and I was really happy to see them respond with a strong work ethic in the game and a lot of energy in every position.”
While the Mustangs continue to shut out their opponents, Parsons recognized improvement in the team’s performance. “It was noticeable on Friday that we are starting to become more creative in our offensive attack, so again I was happy to see this growth in our team,” she said.
Forward/midfielders Corinne Carson, junior, and Ava Roth, senior, led the Mustangs against the Panthers with two goals apiece. Junior midfielder Kate Mills, sophomore forward/midfielder Megan Butler, junior midfielder Ella Howard and freshman forward/midfielder Victoria Rund each added one goal.
“We are starting to become more confident in front of the goal, as can be seen with a few players getting their first goals of the season [Rund and Howard],” said Parsons.
Following the win against the Panthers, Mason faced the Strasburg Rams at home on Tuesday night. Though the Mustangs started off slow, senior defense Jessica Gemond scored Mason’s first goal 18 minutes into the game. From there, the Mustangs found the energy needed to end the half 5-0. Mason scored three more goals in the second half, ending the game early at 8-0 as a result of the slaughter rule.
Mills scored a career high five goals against the Rams. Parsons said no player has scored five or more goals in the past two years.
“She is developing into a very dynamic player, who can both create dangerous goal-scoring opportunities for the team as well as score goals herself,” said Parsons of the 2014 first team All-District, first team All-Region and first team All-State player. “Kate is incredibly hard-working and determined, and that was evident in the way she played last [Tuesday] night.”
Adding to the goals by Mills and Gemond, Roth and sophomore forward/midfielder Rebecca Crouch both contributed one goal for the Mustangs.
Mason travelled to William Monroe High School last night but results were not yet available at press time. The team hits the road again tomorrow to play at Warren County High School.
