ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop lacrosse team netted 10 second-half goals, seven unanswered to cruise to a 17-6 victory over the George Mason Patriots Friday afternoon at Eagle Field.
The Eagles improved to 2-1 on the young season while George Mason fell to 0-1, playing its first contest of the year.
"Alaina Girani had an outstanding game for us in net today," head coach John Sung said. "Jenna (Kasmarik) continues to be an unstoppable offensive force and Shannon (Gallagher) and Logan (McCarthy) continue to contribute offensively."
Winthrop put the first two goals of the game on the board, both from free-position attempts. Senior Jenna Kasmarik netted the first just under five minutes into the contest and junior Logan McCarthy made it 2-0 with 23 minutes on the clock. George Mason's Melissa Lobacarro made it 2-1 less than two minutes later.
The Eagles then went on a 4-0 run fueled by two tallies form Kasmarik, one from McCarthy and one from Shannon Gallagher to go up 6-1 with 10:30 on the clock. The Patriots pulled two goals back to get within 6-3 with just over four minutes left but Kasmarik sent the Eagles into half with a 7-3 lead with just under three minutes on the clock.
A freshman duo of Kristen Shriver and Katie Clark got the Eagles off to a strong start in the second half, each netting unassisted goals in the first four minutes to put Winthrop up 9-3. George Mason came back with back-to-back goals in just 23 seconds to get back within 9-5 with 23:17 on the clock.
Sydney Cope grabbed her first of the game to put the Eagles back up five before the Patriots got one back with just under 20 minutes to play.
After Mason's sixth goal, the Eagles grabbed full control of the game. Winthrop closed the final 15 minutes scoring seven unanswered tallies. The Eagles got two goals form Gallagher, two from Shriver and one each from Kasmarik, Danielle Ellis and Krista Frowein to reach the 17-6 final.
Kasmarik finished with six points on five goals and one assist while Gallagher and Shriver each tallied three goals. Logan McCarthy also finished with two goals. Freshman Katherine Judge was strong in the loose-ball battle, picking up six draw controls and four ground balls. Freshman goalie Alaina Girani was strong in net for the Eagles, finishing with nine saves and picked up her second victory of the season.
The Eagles grabbed their 17 goals on 28 total shots and went 2-for-3 on free-position attempts. Winthrop totaled 20 ground balls, 10 draw controls and forced 14 turnovers while only committing eight.
Winthrop will be back in action at Eagle Field on Sunday when it hosts the Michigan Wolverines at 1 p.m.
