St. Bonaventure

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The St. Bonaventure women's soccer team showed fight on Saturday afternoon at Marra Athletics Complex, but their rally fell just short in a 3-2 loss to George Mason.

In the first minute of action, starting goalie Callie Turpin suffered an injury on a save that resulted in a collision with an attacking player and had to be replaced with senior Juliana Castellano. The Bonnies offense also had a rough half, managing only one shot in the first period. The game stayed tight, though, thanks to three saves from Castellano. 

It wasn't until the 43rd minute that George Mason found the scoreboard. Midfielder Abigail Merchant received a pass from Carly Passaro inside the box and found space in the bottom right corner of the net for the Patriots first goal. The Bonnies went into halftime down 1-0.

Coming out for the second half, both teams found themselves starting slow again. It wasn't until the 70th minute that the pace of the game picked up. George Mason midfielder Molly Starner gave the Patriots a 2-0 lead, putting the ball in the back of the net with an assist from Gianna Chrapek. 

Less than a minute later, the Bonnies found the board.

Freshman midfielder Ava Dimperio dribbled past a pair of defenders at midfield and delivered a deep pass toward the box. Sophomore forward Ava Reybitz beat George Mason's goalie to the ball, knocking it into the net for the Bonnies' first score of the day.

After the Patriots brought their lead back to two in the 77th minute, St. Bonaventure struck again. With an opportunity to score in the 79th minute, the Bonnies drew a foul inside the box and were awarded a penalty kick. Graduate midfielder Emily Neenan converted the penalty into the left side of the net, cutting George Mason's lead to 3-2.

With an opportunity to tie the game in the final 10 minutes, the Bonnies couldn't find the equalizer. Their best chance came with the clock winding down in the 90th minute, but freshman Moran Moscovici's shot sailed just right of the goal and into the side netting.

Castellano finished the game with five saves.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH RAY LEONE
"I think in the last minute or two of the [first] half, we showed a spark. We just continued it in the second half and I'm proud of the effort we brought today."

"We fouled way too many times. We don't usually do that. We're all amped up when we have the ball. You can't be amped up when you're defending because you're going to whack somebody and that's not our style."

UP NEXT
The Brown and White head on the road for a midweek matchup with Saint Joseph's on Thursday, Oct. 22, with kickoff at 7 p.m.

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