Youngstown, Ohio – The Youngstown State Women's Lacrosse program dropped its third-straight game on Sunday afternoon, 17-6, to the George Mason Patriots inside the Watson and Tressel Training Site.
Claire Baenziger continued her strong offensive start to the season as she had two team-high goals and tied for the team lead with three draw controls.
Mackenzie Flannigan led the Penguins defensively as she had a team-high five ground balls and caused two turnovers.
Alyssa Edwards started her first game of the season in the cage, saving eight shots.
The Penguins got off to a quick start to get the home crowd into it when Lilly Mattuccci scored her first-career goal at the 13:26 mark of the opening frame. That was the only lead that YSU would hold. George Mason scored the next two goals, followed by a Sami Drew goal with 8:01 left in the first quarter to tie the game at two, which would be YSU's last goal of the opening half.
The Patriots started a massive run, scoring the final two goals of the opening quarter to push their lead to 4-2, and continued the run as they outscored YSU 4-0 in the second quarter to take an 8-2 lead into halftime.
The Patriots concluded their run as they added their seventh-straight goal to start the second half, pushing the lead to 9-2. Claire Baenziger ended YSU's 25-minute scoreless drought as she netted her first goal of the day at the 11:35 mark of the third quarter, followed by a Maya Griffin goal 90 seconds later to cut the deficit to 9-4. The Patriots answered with a four-goal run, pushing the lead to 13-4, before Emma Hoffman netted her first goal of the season with 1:39 remaining in the quarter, as the Penguins trailed by eight goals heading into the fourth quarter.
GMU added four more goals to begin the fourth quarter before Claire Baenziger netted the game's final goal with 4:35 left, as the final score was 17-6.
The Guins will be back in action next Sunday when they travel on the road for the first time this season to battle Monmouth. The opening draw is scheduled for noon.
For news and updates throughout the 2026 women's lacrosse season, follow @YSUwlax on X.
