The 17th-ranked Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team improved to 3-0 on the season with a hard-fought 10-8 victory over George Mason in Winter Park, Fla. George Mason suffered its first loss of the season and is now 2-1 on the year.

The Irish and Patriots were tied at 6-6 with 10 minutes remaining in the game before Notre Dame went on a 4-1 run, putting the game out of reach. Irish junior Danielle Shearer recorded three goals and four assists in the game, while seniors Alissa Moser and Natalie Loftus and sophomore Meredith Simon had two goals each. Kassen Delano also tallied a goal, while Eleanor Weille recorded an assist.

Notre Dame jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. George Mason battled back tying the game at 2-2, before each team exchanged goals making the score 4-4. Notre Dame took back the lead 5-4 with 45 seconds remaining in the first half.

After the Patriots battled back, Notre Dame went on a 4-1 run to extend its lead to 10-7 with 5:42 remaining. George Mason closed the gap to 10-8 with 1:35 to go in the contest, but the Irish held on for the victory.

Irish goalie Jen White improved to 3-0 on the season after facing 22 shots, making eight saves and allowing eight goals. Coming into the game, White had allowed only eight total goals in the first two contests of the 2002 campaign.

Notre Dame is next in action when it plays host the Boston College on Sunday, March 17, at 1:00 p.m. Location of the game is yet to be determined. If the game is played indoors, it will be at the Loftus Sports Complex. If outdoors, it will be at Moose Krause Stadium.

Notes:

* With her two goals tonight, Alissa Moser extended her team lead to eight. For the season, Moser has eight goals and one assist for nine points.

* Danielle Shearer took over the team lead in points with her seven points tonight against the Patriots. Shearer has six goals and seven assists for 13 points in ’02. She is averaging over four points a game through the first three contests.

* Natalie Loftus now has five goals on the season, while Kassen Delano has three goals.

* With the win tonight, this is the fourth consecutive season Notre Dame has started the year 3-0.