By Drew Costley

George Mason High School’s girls varsity soccer team beat Madison County High School 9-2 on Tuesday, but gave up the first goal against the Madison County Mountaineers (1-8, 1-8). It was the first time the George Mason Mustangs (8-0, 8-0) gave up multiple goals since March 19, 2013.

“We started the game playing well, but lacked defensive urgency in every position on the field when we turned over the ball – that seemed to be a theme throughout the game. … Moving forward we need to be more determined to win the ball back as soon as we lose possession,” said Head Coach Jennifer Parsons.

Parsons said the Mustangs’ lack of defensive urgency led to the Mountaineers’ two goals, which resulted from their only two shots on goal. One of the Mountaineers’ goals was an own goal deflected in by a George Mason defender, which Parsons says came as a result of “all-around poor defensive pressure.”

Senior midfielder Claire Trevisan scored the Mustangs’ first goal of the match unassisted. Sophomore midfielder Ella Howard scored the Mustangs’ second goal of the match, assisted by Trevisan. Trevisan scored the Mustangs’ third goal off of an assist from junior midfielder/forward Ava Roth. Senior midfielder/forward Camille Rice scored the team’s fourth goal, assisted by freshman defender Alice Castillo. Trevisan scored the Mustangs’ fifth goal off of an assist from sophomore defender Caroline Stricker.

Roth scored the Mustangs’ sixth, seventh, and eighth goals of the game – two scored off of assists from Rice and the other off of an assist from freshman forward Rebecca Crouch. Sophomore forward Corinne Carson scored the team’s final goal of the game, assisted by Trevisan.

“We definitely dominated possession and had a number of chances throughout the game, however our quick speed of play and combination passes were what led to our chances, resulting in goals,” Parsons said.

Parsons said the Mustangs’ win in their previous match, a 6-1 victory over rival Clarke County High School in early April, was a “competitive, challenging and physical game.” The Mustangs scored five goals in the first half against the Clarke County Eagles (5-3, 5-3) before slowing down in the second half.

“Since it was our third game in three days, I think we started to run out of gas in the second half – we still controlled the play, but we weren’t as urgent [or] intense to score or create scoring opportunities as we were in the first half,” Parsons said.

Trevisan scored the Mustangs’ first and second goals of the game, assisted by Crouch and Roth respectively. Roth scored the Mustangs’ third and fourth goals of the game off of assists from Rice and sophomore midfielder/forward Kate Mills. Rice assisted with the Mustangs’ fifth goal of the match, which was scored by Howard. Trevisan scored the team’s final goal of the game.

“We played a fast-paced game against Clarke, and I think that tempo was a benefit for us,” Parsons said. “We attacked consistently throughout the game, and constantly had an attacking mindset, which I think was important.”

With eight games left in the regular season, the Mustangs are in first place in the Bull Run District and in Conference 35.

The Mustangs host Clarke County on Friday in a rematch against the district rival. They travel to Strasburg High School next Monday to play the Rams before hosting William Monroe High School on Tuesday.

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