Senior attack Danielle Etrasco and freshman attack Mallory Collins scored five goals apiece on Saturday to lead the Boston University lacrosse team to a 16-8 win over George Mason University.
The victory is the Terriers’ (1-2) first of the 2012 season, which began with two road losses and a postponed home game.
BU coach Liz Robertshaw said her team felt great for finally putting a mark in the win column.
“I do think there was a sense of relief for the girls and more so a sense of confidence in finishing the game and getting the win,” said Robertshaw in an email interview on Monday.
The two teams were relatively even in the first half, as they were tied at four apiece by the end of the frame. George Mason (1-4) got on the scoreboard first when senior Kara Bowman tallied the first goal less than two minutes into the game, setting off a streak of the two teams exchanging the lead throughout the half.
BU junior midfielder Kristen Mogavero capped off the frame with her third goal of the season to tie the contest with 2:38 remaining.
“The first half we were slow – slow to the ball, slow to react, slow to slide defensively and not playing the game we set out to play,” Robertshaw said.
The Terriers took 15 shots in the first half to the Patriots 12. George Mason picked up two more ground balls than BU, however, and won one more draw control. The Terriers were also called for 13 fouls in the first half, four more than the Patriots.
The second half got off to a modest start for both teams, with senior attack Molly Swain scoring the fifth goal of the game for BU and her first goal of the season 3:41 in. Patriot midfielder Emily Ellisen responded with a goal off of a free position shot 13 seconds later.
But then the Terriers broke the game open. BU scored nine unanswered goals in a stretch of 13 minutes, stopped only by GMU sophomore attack Rachel Obregon’s fifth goal of the season off of another free-position shot with 10:58 left in the game. In the stretch from 24:59 to 12:14, Collins scored four of her five goals and Etrasco scored three times.
“We were getting draw controls, setting the fast-paced tempo that we like to play and getting the looks on attack that we planned out,” Robertshaw said. “The misconception was that we were just scoring; the truth is we were scoring how we wanted to score.”
Etrasco and Collins both scored one more time each to close out the win, with 3:29 and 1:29 remaining in the half, respectively. Both goals were assisted by senior attack Catie Tilton.
All four of George Mason’s goals in the second frame came off of free-position shots, three originating with Ellisen.
BU shot 17 times in the second half, with George Mason taking 13 shots, one more than its first half total. The Patriots had only two saves and picked up two ground balls, one less than the Terriers, but did win the second half draw control battle, nine to eight.
BU finished with 30 fouls, double George Mason’s total. Robertshaw believed the foul total gave the Patriots an opportunity to press back against the Terriers.
“I wasn’t pleased with the amount of fouls we had because I think it gave Mason confidence attacking us,” Robertshaw said. “We need to do a better job off ball getting out of three seconds and shooting space to limit the free-position shots our opponents have, but on the flip side I do have confidence in our goalkeepers to make saves when put in that position.”
Tilton had one more assist in the first-half to lead the Terriers in that statistical category. Collins took the most shots for BU, eight, followed by senior midfielder Annie Stookesberry at six and Etrasco and senior attack Hannah Frey at five. Stookesberry and junior defender Brittany Carlin combined at three apiece to win half of the Terriers’ 12 draw controls.
After guarding the net for the entirety of the season’s first two loses, sophomore goalkeeper Christina Sheridan also got her first win of the year. She stopped 10 of the Patriots’ 25 shots, holding them to eight total goals.
Ellisen was the Patriots’ leader in goals, with three, and shots, with seven. She also led her team with seven draw controls. George Mason’s only two assists were the work of attack Mary Schwartz, while attack Anna Kopecka picked up four of the Patriots’ 14 ground balls.
Goalkeeper Brittany Pastrana played 50:42 in net for George Mason, allowing 14 of BU’s goals and stopping seven shots. Katie Teague replaced Pastrana with 9:18 left in the game. Teague allowed two goals and made zero saves.
Ultimately, the second half was where Robertshaw thought her team came together.
She said, “Everyone felt good about putting together a strong second half and making the changes needed to win the game.”
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