Women’s Soccer Tripped Up By Indiana University

Story by Broadside Correspondent Adam Syvlain. Photos by Mahmoud Lababidi.

On a damp Friday evening at George Mason Stadium, the Mason women’s soccer team fell to Indiana University 4-1. After winning back-to-back shutout victories against Hartford and Mississippi State on the strength of great defense and brilliant goaltending by junior Kelly Keelan, George Mason University was hoping to build on that momentum and even add to its 3-3 record this season.

Their previous two wins crowned them the Mason Tournament Champions and Keelan’s performance earned her MVP and Colonial Conference Co-Player of the Week honors. Unfortunately for Mason, Indiana was hungry for a win after losing two of its last three games.

The game started out sluggish for both teams. The first whistle was blown 15 minutes in on an Indiana offside call. Indiana jumped ahead halfway through the first half on a header by sophomore midfielder Chloe McKay, just past the outstretched arms of Keelan. Mason managed just one shot on goal in the first half, and after a strike by junior defender Christie Kotynski, Indiana held a 2-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, Mason switched things up by pulling Keelan out of goal and moving her up to forward, a position she played regularly for the team the past two years. The move seemed to energize the team a little and physical play increased on the field, earning a yellow card for freshman Alyssa Andersen when she tried to make a tackle with 30 minutes remaining. That didn’t slow down Indiana as they scored two game clinching goals about 60 seconds apart. The first was on a corner kick by McKay, her second goal of the game, and the other, a breakaway finish by junior forward, Liz Holby.

Mason continued to fight and did not give in to the shutout, finally getting on the board with 2:40 remaining on a goal by Patti Benner, the result of a well-placed corner kick by senior defender Jessica Paris. Mason fell to 2-4 and Indiana improved to 3-3 on the year.

Mason will have the opportunity to get back on track Tuesday, when it hosts Howard University at George Mason Stadium at 7 p.m.