For George Mason women's lacrosse goalkeeper Meg Dentler, tonight's game against Virginia is simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Virginia enters tonight's contest at George Mason with a red-hot offense that has scored 20 goals in each of its last two games. The last time the women's lacrosse team scored 20 or more goals in back-to-back games was 1993 when the Cavaliers put up 22 and 20 goals against UMBC and Richmond, respectively.
In the Cavaliers' last game against Temple, junior Tyler Leachman led the team with six points. Leachman credited the entire team for the recent offensive explosion.
"It's definitely a team effort," Leachman said. "I think we did a great job of getting everyone involved."
Ten different players scored goals for the Cavaliers against Temple, and 10 of the 20 goals came off of assists. In their recent surge, the Cavaliers have been scoring with both great individual performances as well as coordinated team play.
Senior Amy Appelt recently became Virginia's all-time leading scorer in women's lacrosse history. Appelt's five points against Old Dominion gave her 324 for her career and moved her into eighth all-time in women's lacrosse history.
"It is an honor just to be looked at next to great players like Cherie Greer and Lauren Aumiller," Appelt said.
Appelt said playing on a team with so many other talented players has made her job easier.
"I really can't take all the credit by myself," Appelt said. "I have great players all around me that have helped me achieve these goals."
George Mason currently stands at 4-7 on the season, playing against many of the same teams Virginia has played. The Patriots lost to both Maryland and North Carolina, while the Cavaliers won both of their ACC contests by solid margins earlier in the year.
Despite its record, George Mason has played well against ranked teams. Then-No.9 Boston University squeaked by George Mason 11-10 in overtime, and the Patriots played No. 12 Johns Hopkins close before falling 8-6. In addition, George Mason is coming off an 11-8 victory over No. 20 Delaware Sunday.
The Cavalier offense aims to feast on a George Mason defense that has allowed over 10 goals in seven of its 10 games, including each game against ACC foes. Stopping Virginia's high-powered offense will present a formidable task for Dentler and the rest of the George Mason defense, as Virginia's balanced attack distributes the ball well and can produce points from any number of players.
To make matters worse for George Mason, the Virginia women's lacrosse team has never lost to the Patriots. Virginia holds a 6-0 all-time advantage and will look to maintain its unblemished record against the Patriots in tonight's game. Face-off is 7 p.m. at the George Mason Stadium.
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