Scrapping its way through the Bull Run District leg of its schedule, George Mason High School’s girls soccer team edged out Clarke County High School 2-0 before claiming an 8-0 win over Rappahannock County.
Goals have been hard to come by for the Mustangs (8-2-1) in their recent stretch and the game against Clarke County was no exception. Traveling out to Berryville to take on one of the more potent soccer rivals in the Bull Run, Mason had to be patient while the game remained scoreless for nearly the entire first half, and at the same time, stay vigilant defensively to keep the Eagles’ advances away. The Mustangs were rewarded with a 2 goal spurt in 14 minutes of game time that decided the contest.
“We played our style from the start and kept pushing our attack, even when a goal took a while to come,” Mason head coach Leah Partridge said. “We spent time [the day before the match] looking at game footage and talking about how we could be more dangerous offensively. We knew Clarke would be a tough opponent and strong defensively.”
Mason came into the game seriously and played as such. Throughout the match Clarke County was afforded only one shot on goal that junior goalkeeper Josie Shaw capably handled.
On the offensive end, things fared a bit differently. The Eagles stemmed many of the Mustangs’ rushes and kept them from getting comfortable in the offensive third of the field. But, as Partridge said, Mason didn’t flinch from its gameplan and continued to wear down Clarke County.
Finally, in the 30th minute, the Mustangs broke through when freshman defender Anna Williams’ corner arced perfectly to freshman midfielder Megan Tremblay to inaugurate the scoring for the game. Mason picked that momentum up right after the second half began when junior forward Emma Rollins slipped past the Eagles’ back line and fed a lateral ball to fellow junior forward Fiona Howard to give the Mustangs a solid 2-0 lead, and eventually, the game’s final margin.
Life was easier for Mason against Rappahannock County Tuesday night, especially because a roster that had been bruised up all season was finally at full strength.
Howard assisted senior midfielder Maura Mann, who had been battling an ankle injury on and off for the past couple of weeks. Freshman midfielder Zoraida Icalbalceta fed Howard for the second goal that came soon after. Senior midfielder Kristin Kay set-up Icalbalceta’s goal the following possession to push Mason to 3-0 early on before the Rollins-to-Howard connection was re-established for the Mustangs’ fourth goal. Tremblay finished a cross from junior defender Isabel Davis before Tremblay shared the wealth by assisting sophomore forward Emilia Cipriano’s goal soon after.
Coming into the second half up 6-0, junior midfielder Maddison Mamajek helped junior forward Gabriela Stevens notch the seventh goal, followed by Tremblay’s through-ball to junior forward Natli Majano to round out the scoring.
Mason will travel to play Dominion High School tonight at 7:30 p.m.
