Lady Patriots Win 8-7

By Broadside Correspondent Ebad Khan

The women’s lacrosse team partook in their final regular season game against their conference counterparts, the James Madison University Dukes. With the sound of the whistle blowing promptly at 7:00 p.m., the Lady Patriots began their attack and held on to defeat the Dukes 8-7 in a seesaw battle between the in-state rivals.

Just a couple minutes into the game, junior attacker Megan Udovich scored Mason’s first goal. Udovich concluded the 2009 season as one of the team’s leading scorers. She scored a total of 28 goals, finishing in a tie for second place on the team.

The Dukes quickly responded with a goal of their own to knot things up at 1-1. Midfielder Mary Kate Lomady provided JMU with the team’s first three goals, but she was not able to sustain her first-half offensive power throughout the game.

In response to JMU’s first goal, the Patriots countered with one of their own that was scored by freshman midfielder Emily Ellisen, her 26th of the season, off of a beautiful assist from sophomore attacker Madalyn Jamison.

Jamison entered the game needing only three assists from tying the school’s single-season record of 31.The Dukes again proved that the game would not be handed to Mason after quickly tying the score at 2-2.

Sophomore midfielder Chelsea Gamble gave Mason the lead once again with the assist going to senior attacker Brittany Berger. After gaining the lead, Mason allowed two goals as the Dukes held a 4-3 advantage. The Dukes took the lead with 2:36 left, but Mason tied the game at 4 with 2:10 left in the half after Jamison recorded her 28th goal of the season. Both teams went into the half tied a 4.

Mason catapulted themselves into the lead with two straight scores to hold a 6-4 advantage, attempting to take away any optimism from their opposition to win the final game. Gamble and Jamison each scored their second goal of the game within the first 10 minutes of the second half. Jamison also tallied another assist, leaving her one away from tying the single-season record.

JMU, who continued to play with pride, answered Mason’s short run to cut the lead to 6-5. In order to keep the Dukes from gaining momentum, Gamble registered for a hat trick and Berger daggered the hopes of their conference rivals to take an 8-5 lead. JMU inched closer to Mason’s lead as they made it a one-goal game again with 4:06 left in regulation.

With 26 ticks left on the clock, the Dukes had possession of the ball, but unfortunately JMU could not force the game into overtime. First-year Head Coach Lauren Rywak stated that the 2009 season was a big test for the girls.

Throughout the duration of the season the women’s lacrosse team fought valiantly to earn an overall record of 6-10. Mason concluded the season going 2-5 in the CAA. The 8-7 win over JMU snapped the team’s six-game losing streak.

Mason opened CAA play this season with a thrilling 13-11 win over the Drexel University Dragons, but the team picked up their only other conference win in the last game of the season.

Rywak stated that the motto for the team has been to “stay positive on and off the field” and “work together.”