Fifth-year senior goalkeeper Charlene Belanger entered the net on Sunday afternoon for the 50th time as an Eagle, but her leadership, experience and previous success proved insufficient in stopping the prowess of George Mason University’s attacks.
The AU women’s soccer team fell 3-0 to the Patriots at Reeves Field in the season home opener for its second loss of the year. With two freshmen in the starting line-up and seven total first-year collegiate players on the roster, Belanger said having a young group requires patience from the whole team, but she looks forward to watching everyone improve throughout the year.
“We have a pretty young team, and we’re still, in these early games, working on coming together and figuring out how we all play, but we have a ton of heart on the back line, and I think that is going to carry us through the season,” Belanger said.
AU head coach Anabel Hering also praised the work of the freshmen but said the team will need to continue to work on small skills to be ready for the remainder of the schedule.
“We learned a couple of new things in pre-season, making sure everybody is on the same page for what we want in the program, but it’s good to have some fresh young kids in here just to have a different outlook and try to change some things around,” Hering said.
While the young AU team struggled to piece its offense together in the opening minutes of the game, George Mason came out strong. The Patriots racked up the first goal early against AU (0-2, 0-0 PL) when junior defender Sarah Hardison headed the ball over Belanger off an assist from senior midfielder Emma Starr. Hardison’s goal ignited George Mason’s momentum, and she continued to lead her team, securing another goal near the end of the first half and adding a third point with 2:30 to play in the game. The Eagles failed to hold up against George Mason’s depth, recording only three shots in the first period compared to eight shots from the Patriots, and they ended the game with seven less shots than George Mason (1-1, 0-0 A-10).
AU freshman midfielder Audrey Denkler and junior defender Allie Day worked to lead an Eagle rally in the second half, each recording a shot on goal, but Patriot redshirt junior goalkeeper Kirsten Glad shut them down on each attempt. Glad previously played for University of North Carolina-Greensboro and earned her first shutout for George Mason against the Eagles.
Sophomore forward Kaylee Hillard and senior forward Kelly Donovan also earned shots on goal in the second half for the Eagles, but Hering said she hopes the team will be able to produce a stronger first half game when they take on Mount St. Mary’s in Maryland on Friday. The struggling Mountaineers have conceded ten goals in their first two games of the season.
AU looks to produce its first winning season since 2009 when the Eagles finished 11-10 (5-2 PL) and advanced to the Patriot League finals, but Hering said AU will need to build off this loss and play a more complete 90 minute game in order to find success.
“We didn’t play as hard as I think we could have,” Herring said. “Second half was a lot better from us, so we saw some positives out of that, just trying to put two halves together in the next competition.”
