Fairfax, Va. -
Senior Cheyenne Skidmore tallied two
goals and freshman Katie Ponce added
another, but the Towson women's soccer team (1-15-2, 1-8-1 Colonial Athletic
Association (CAA)) dropped a 4-3 decision to George Mason (7-11-1, 3-6-1 CAA) Wednesday
evening at George Mason Stadium.
With her goals, Skidmore moved into fourth place all-time
with 58 points (19g, 20a). Ponce had her first multi-point game with her first
career goal and an assist on one of Skidmore's tallies.
"The performance Cheyenne put on this past weekend and
tonight shows why she is one of the top five performers of all time at Towson,"
said head coach Greg Paynter. "She is irreplaceable on the field, but her work
ethic off the field makes her a pretty special role model for the younger
players."
"The captains really took the lead at the half," Paynter
continued. "Our performance in the first half was lackluster and unacceptabl,e
and the captains really spurred us on to a much better second half with their
passion and leadership.
Towson produced all of its offense in the second half.
George Mason led 2-0 at the break, but Skidmore cut George Mason's advantage in
half with her first goal in the 63rd minute. She received a pass
from Ponce and lifted the ball over Patriots keeper Lyndse Hokanson. Ponce evened the game at 2-2 when she slid a pass
from junior Emily Banes into the
back of the net at 69:15. However, Mason moved back in front, 3-2, when Sydney Mitchell controlled a teammate's
shot that had bounced off the crossbar and sent it back into the goal 17
seconds later.
Skidmore knocked in her second of the match at 81:02, taking
advantage of confusion in front of the net to score off a Sofia Read pass and tie the game again, 3-3. But when Towson was
called for a foul in the box just over a minute later, Jazmin Cardoso converted the resulting penalty kick for the
game-winner.
Sophomore Erin Quinn
made seven saves in net for Towson, while Hokanson made one save for Mason.
""This season was not what we wanted," noted Paynter. "But
this team's spirit really showed through late in the season in our comebacks
against Georgia State on Sunday and at George Mason tonight. The team is
committed to improving. We have a lot of young players who are still learning
and working toward their potential."