RICHMOND, Va. – Abby Maiello's goal with 13:28 left in regulation gave St. Bonaventure a 1-0 win over George Mason on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Women's Soccer Championship at Sports Backers Stadium.
With the win, the Bonnies advanced to play top-seeded Dayton on Friday night in the semifinals. Dayton advanced with a wild, 5-4 win over VCU earlier on Thursday.
Maiello was the beneficiary of a brilliant play by junior midfielder Brittany Charles. Charles took a through pass and broke free between two Mason defenders one-on-one agaist Mason keeper Lyndse Hokanson. Charles drew Hokanson out of the net and calmly slipped a pass to her left to Maiello, who put the ball into an open net. It was the first goal of the year for the sophomore midfielder from Mechanicville, N.Y.
The Bonnies were pressured throughout the game but their back line of Alyssa Lapp, Taylor Broderick, Stephanie Jenkins and Alicia Elwell held firm against the Patriots. Bonnies' senior keeper Megan Junker did her part as well, making six saves including a critical stop with 1:17 left to preserve the victory.
 The goal by Maiello capped a flurry of offense that saw several St. Bonaventure chances to break the tie. With 31 minutes left, Charles sent a free kick toward the Mason goal but Hokanson batted it away. About seven minutes later, Maiello dribbled in free on the right of Hokanson but her shot just missed wide left. Charles then fired a hard shot on goal with 16 minutes left that Hoakenson coralled.
In the first half, after a quick start where the Bonnies had several scoring chances in the first five minutes of the night, George Mason settled in and began to control the flow. Junker made a sparkling save midway through the first half when she slapped away a Mason chance with her left hand. The shots were 7-2 in favor the Patiots in the opening 45 minutes.
For the game, Mason out-shot the Bonnies 15-8, but shots on goal were just 6-4 favor the Patriots.
St. Bonaventure improved to 8-9-1 on the season; Mason ended its season at 7-11-1.
From a historical perspective, the win was just the second for St. Bonaventure in six appearances in the Atlantic 10 Championship. This is the Bonnies' six consecutive berth in the A-10 postseason and their only prior win came in the quarterfinals in 2010, a 2-0 decision over UMass.
