by Liz Lizama
The George Mason High School girls soccer team remains undefeated after notching three more wins this past week. On the road, the Mustangs defeated William Monroe High School 5-2 on Wednesday and Warren County High School 6-2 on Friday. After a more challenging away schedule, Mason returned to their home turf for an 8-0 shut out over Madison County High School on Tuesday.
“The William Monroe game was an exciting, physical battle for the girls,” said head coach Jennifer Parsons.
Junior midfielder Kate Mills set a positive tone for Mason early on with a goal in the first minute of the game, but the Monroe Dragons managed to tie the score 1-1 on a penalty shot given as a result of a Mustang foul.
Sophomore forward/midfielder Rebecca Crouch brought the Mustangs up 2-1 with a goal 30 minutes into the first half, but the Dragons fired back with another goal in the last minute to tie the game 2-2.
After a close first half, Mason found their momentum and dominated the second half. Mills and Crouch both scored again, and junior forward/midfielder Ava Roth added another goal to seal the victory for the Mustangs.
“It was a great game that challenged us physically, and we were forced to work extremely hard to keep possession of the ball,” said Parsons. “The girls did a great job responding to Monroe’s physical style of play and capitalizing on our chances.”
On Friday night, Mason started off strong against Warren County with Roth scoring within the first two minutes of the game, but the Mustangs missed many chances moving forward in the game.
The team had almost 50 shot attempts throughout the game but had a lot of trouble converting those opportunities, according to Parsons. “It being the third game in a tough three-game week, I think that exhaustion took a toll on many of the players,” she said. “It was a good experience and allowed us to see where our fitness level is at this point in the season.
Mason led 5-1 at halftime over Warren County and scored one more in the second half, but the Wildcats broke through the Mustang’s defense to add another goal. Though the game resulted in a Mason win, it marked only the third out of ten games an opponent scored on the Mustangs.
Roth led the Mustangs in scoring with three goals, followed by junior forward/midfielder Corinne Carson with two goals and Crouch with one goal.
“Allowing four goals in two games [William Monroe and Warren County this week] has also allowed us to better understand the situation where we need to improve as a team defensively,” said Parsons. “We haven’t been regularly put under defensive pressure this season, so it was great to have this level of competition in the last two games so we can focus on specific areas of our game, improve them and be better prepared for the rest of the season.”
At home on Tuesday night, Mason returned to business as usual with an 8-0 goal differential over Madison County, which ended the game 20 minutes early as a result of the slaughter rule. To date, Mason has won seven games in this fashion.
The Mustangs scored seven of the eight goals in the first half alone on Tuesday. Crouch, Mills and Roth each scored two goals. Carson and freshman forward/midfielder Victoria Rund contributed one goal apiece.
Mason travels to Clarke County High School tomorrow to face the Eagles, the only other team to score against the Mustangs this season. The two played last month in a close game that resulted in a 2-1 Mason win.
