FARMVILLE, Va. – George Mason scored three goals in overtime to negate Longwood's spirited second-half comeback and take down the Lancers, 16-13, Sunday afternoon at the Longwood Athletics Complex.
 
Behind overtime goals from Melissa Lobaccaro, Jacquelyn Spalding and Caitlin McGinn, the Patriots (5-3) spoiled a Longwood comeback bid that included three goals in the final 6:04 of regulation. Longwood (2-7) junior Katie McHugh scored the equalizer with 1:50 left in the second half, but Lobaccaro responded with the go-ahead goal just over one minute into overtime to end a 13-minute scoring drought for the Patriots.
 
Lobaccaro and Spalding combined for eight of George Mason's 16 goals and withstood an eight-point day from Longwood midfielder Sarah Butler. Butler scored five times and dished out three assists while logging a season-high six draw controls to power the Lancers to what was shaping up to be their third home win of the year.
 
"All week long we've been talking in practice about carrying it out for two halves," said Longwood senior attack Sarah Arndt, whose assist freed up McHugh for the game-tying goal at the end of the second half. "I think today we had the intensity we needed to do that and carry on to the end of the game. Unfortunately the draw controls didn't go our way in overtime. It happens."
 
The difference for George Mason in overtime came in the center circle as the Patriots won four of five draw controls to take hold of the clock after Lobacarro's go-ahead score. Gina Purdue grabbed two of her game-high six draws in the extra period to spark George Mason's possession advantage and hold Longwood to just one shot in overtime, which goalkeeper Taylor Carpentier stopped for her ninth save of the game.
 
George Mason's 3-0 overtime run followed a Longwood-controlled second half that saw the Lancers charge back from a 12-9 deficit by outscoring the Patriots 4-1 over the final 13:46 of regulation. After a three-goal first half from Spalding lifted the Patriots to a 9-7 halftime lead, George Mason looked poised to run away in the second half, scoring three goals inside the first nine minutes out of the break. But Butler put the Lancers on her back and responded with her fourth goal of the day with 13:46 remaining to spark the 4-1 rally that ended with Arndt finding McHugh from behind the net for the game-tying goal.
 
"We've had a few games where that first 10 minutes of the second half, teams get a lot of momentum on us," Arndt said. "They get up, score a bunch of goals and then we can't really dig ourselves out of that hole. We've just been talking about coming out with more intensity, winning the draw controls, putting the ball in the back of the net and just keeping our spirits up. I think sometimes we get down on ourselves when teams get that momentum after halftime, but I think today we did a good job of that."
 
Butler helped Longwood capture four of the final five draw controls in the second half to fuel a defensive effort that held George Mason scoreless over the final 12 minutes. The Patriots were set up to win the game in dramatic fashion after a foul in the arc set up Spalding for a free position shot with nine seconds left, but Longwood goalkeeper Christian Acker deflected the shot to push the game into overtime.
 
That would be Longwood's last shot at a lead, however, as an opening draw control by Jordan Sdanowich led to Lobaccaro's free position goal 1:15 into overtime. Spalding followed with another goal just 24 seconds into the second half of overtime, and McGinn stuck the nail in the coffin less than one minute later.
 
The loss preempts Longwood's final non-conference showdown before the start of Big South play against Coastal Carolina on April 4. Before that conference matchup, however, the Lancers will host ACC powerhouse and top-10 ranked Louisville at the Longwood Athletics Complex Wednesday at 1 p.m.
 
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