by Jeffrey Wojtala – Special to the News-Press

The George Mason High School field hockey teams split their recent games against Wakefield High School at home on Thursday, Sept. 15. The junior varsity team supported by a strong team effort won on a penalty corner at 15:42 of the second half with a goal from Clare Doss. The final score was 1-0.

The varsity team took the field looking to turn around their latest loss to another Arlington County team, Washington-Lee High School’s Generals. The Wakefield Warriors were a familiar adversary to a number of the girls who play lacrosse and field hockey.

On this night Mason dominated everywhere on the field except in penalty corners and ultimately, the final score. Head coach Amanda Crider had her girls prepared for the game and Mason pushed into the Warriors zone through the strength of their will, but could not manage a shot on goal, even though receiving four penalty corners.

The Mustangs had numerous chances but missed the net on each advance. The score at the end of the first half was 0-0 but Mason was dominating in all game statistics.

The second half began with the Warriors pushing deep into the Mason zone on numerous occasions, only to be thwarted by the Mason defensive squad. The Warriors managed seven penalty corners in the half because of infractions inside the circle, and on the third consecutive corner the Warriors broke the tie by getting one past Mason’s goaltender Hannah Hiscott and ultimately the win.

Strong defensive play was shown by Kalena Wojtala, Maeve Donnelly, Alex Biggs, Manon Diz and Hannah Hiscott throughout the game, but in the offensive zone, no direct shots on goal doomed the Mason squad in the lost.

The Mustangs varsity team showed signs of bouncing back when it beat Liberty High School on Tuesday, Sept. 20. They faced the Flint Hill Huskies at home on Wednesday, Sept. 20, but results of the game were not available at press time.