By Becky Roa and Loreto Martinez (April 3, 2003)

The Lady Mustangs scored a goal by sophomore Christina Kirkbride in the first minute of Tuesday’s away game against Clarke County and never looked back as they dominated the Eagles 5-1.
 

The Mustangs went up 2-0 with a goal by junior Rebecca Roa before Mason’s overconfidence resulted in a careless mistake by the defense, allowing an Eagle striker to score their only goal. The second half brought three more goals from Mason, two of them by freshmen Jesse Porzel and the final goal by Roa. Last Friday the news wasn’t so positive for the Mustangs as they lost to the Brentsville Tigers 2-0, but not without a tough fight. The loss reminded the Mustangs of last year’s humiliating 6-0 loss to the Tigers at home. In Friday’s game, the Tigers scored an unexpected goal in the first five minutes, surprising the Mustangs who; nevertheless, were able to keep the ball in Tiger territory the rest of the first half.  Going into the second half 1-0, the Lady Mustangs returned to the field feeling panicky against their longtime rivals. Having ample opportunities to score, The Lady Mustangs unfortunately weren’t able to convert goals. With the offense in a slump and the defense lacking communication, the Tigers were able to score their second goal, ending the game at 2-0.

Junior Becky Roa practices her kicking form,  apparently to good effect, as she has become a  main scorer for the Mustangs in the season's  early going. (Photo by Andrea Genovese Soares)

The girls stand at 1-1 in the regular season and both games have been district games. In the preseason warm-up games the Mustangs lost 3-1 to Seton High School last Thursday and trounced Central Woodstock 6-0 last Tuesday.

In the Thursday game last week, Seton took the lead in the first two minutes when a striker dribbled through the Mason defense for a 1-0 lead. The Mustangs answered six minutes later with a chipped ball from sophomore mid-fielder Christina Kirkbride that sailed over Seton’s last defender onto junior Becky Roa’s feet and into the corner of the net to tie the score 1-1.

However, an injury in the first half to senior goalkeeper Megan Wilhelm kept her from returning in the second half. In spite of the loss, senior captain Stacy Reddick said, "This game is in no way discouraging because we are all trying to preserve our energy for Brentsville."

Tuesday a week ago, the Lady Mustangs seized the opportunity to show the rest of the district that hey are just as serious about heading to states as was last year’s team when they defeated the 2002 regional qualifiers Central Woodstock 6-0.

Woodstock’s frustration early in the game provoked a penalty kick by junior Becky Roa whose early score led to continued domination. Senior Christina Sedney, freshman Jessie Porzel and Roa brought the score to 4-0 at halftime.

The commanding lead allowed the second string to get needed playing time. Kirkbride and Rachel Sweeney finished off the game with a goal apiece.