ECU Tries To Stay Undefeated At George Mason

Game 4: East Carolina (3-0) at George Mason (0-3)
Date	Friday, Feb. 25
Time	4 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Fairfax, Va. (George Mason Stadium)
Coverage	Live Video
Social Media	Twitter: @eculax Instagram: @eculax Facebook: ECU Lacrosse

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Riding the first 3-0 start in the program's five seasons, the East Carolina lacrosse team will try to stay undefeated as it travels to George Mason for a Friday afternoon clash.

East Carolina (3-0) is off to the best start in the program's five year history and the Pirates have done so in dominant fashion. ECU opened the season with a 13-4 road win at Radford and followed it up by dominating Winthrop (17-7) and Presbyterian (20-3) in Johnson Stadium. It has been tough to tell whether the Pirate defense or offense has been better, as the ECU defense is ranked sixth in the country, allowing just 4.67 goals, while the offense checks in at eighth, scoring 16.67 goals. The Pirates are also third in the nation in save percentage, stopping 67.4% of shots. Sophie Bandorick leads the Pirates with 18 saves in 77 minutes while Brynn Knight has made 10 stops in 90 minutes of action.

For the second straight week, ECU had a player earn a weekly award from the AAC. After Nicole LeGar won the AAC Midfielder of the Week to open the season, Leah Bestany was named AAC Rookie of the Week after scoring a hat trick against Winthrop and adding two goals and an assist against Presbyterian. Frances Kimel joined Bestany in being honored, as Kimel was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll after racking up a combined 12 points in the two games. Kimel leads the team with 16 points on six goals and a team-best 10 assists. Megan Tryniski is the other Pirate with at least 10 points, having scored seven goals while adding six helpers. LeGar leads the team with eight goals, including scoring her 100th career goal against Presbyterian, the second player in ECU history to reach that mark.

On the defensive end, Alexandra Giacolone joined Kimel on the league's weekly Honor Roll after forcing four turnovers and grabbing eight ground balls over the weekend. She leads the team with five caused turnovers and those eight ground balls. LeGar and Flynn Reed have carried the Pirates at the draw circle, with both grabbing 16 draw controls.

George Mason (0-3) is still looking for its first win after a second half comeback fell just short its last time out. The Patriots trailed American 10-3 early in the second half, but came all the way back to tie the game with 34 seconds left. Unfortunately, American grabbed the game-winning goal with nine seconds left to leave George Mason winless. Shannon Tuozzo leads the Patriots with 11 points on seven goals and four assists. Olivia O'Brien is the top goalscorer on the team, with nine goals in the first three games. In the cage, Meaghan Deehan and Fiona Rickels split time, with Deehan playing the majority of the minutes. As a team, the Patriots struggle clearing the ball, ranking 103rd in clearing percentage in the country at 73.7%. They are shooting it well from the eight-meter arc, checking in at 32nd in free position percentage at 50.0% and grab a lot of ground balls, ranking 31st with 18.67 ground balls per game.

It will be the first ever meeting between East Carolina and George Mason and the first of two games against Atlantic 10 opponents this season for the Pirates. East Carolina will also take on Davidson on March 16. ECU is 2-2 all-time against current Atlantic 10 opponents. The Pirates beat VCU 16-12 in 2020 and topped George Washington 10-9 in 2019. ECU dropped a 15-6 contest at Davidson in 2021 as well as falling to George Washington 18-7 in 2018.

Friday's game will get started at 4 p.m., at George Mason Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Sophie Bandorick

Leah Bestany

Alexandra Giacolone

Frances Kimel

Brynn Knight

Nicole LeGar

Flynn Reed

Megan Tryniski

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