With a 12-9 first round loss in the Atlantic 10 Tournament to top-seeded UMass Friday, the GW women’s lacrosse team closed the book on an up and down 2009 season.

After trailing 10-5 early in the second half, GW (5-12, 4-4 A-0) scored four straight goals to come within one, but could not tie the game before the Minutewomen tacked on two more in the game’s closing minutes.

The Colonials opened nonconference play back in February with a six game losing streak, falling to Ohio State, Drexel and George Mason at home and falling on the road against Virginia Tech, American and the nationally-ranked Georgetown team.

GW got its first and only win against a nonconference opponent March 11 at Mount St. Mary’s. The Colonials then dropped their final two out-of-conference games, entering A-10 play 1-8.

But things started to look up for GW with the opening of conference play. GW won its first three conference games, putting the team in position to clinch a bid in the conference tournament with a fourth straight win. The team then dropped its next three games by an average of just over eight goals.

Despite the losses, GW still controlled its own destiny going into its final regular season game versus La Salle. The Colonials managed to get a win on senior day, trouncing the Explorers 16-4 and clinching the final spot in the A-10 Tournament.

A bright spot for the GW this season was the play of junior Taylor Donohue, who became the seventh Colonial in program history to score 100 career goals after her six-goal performance against Richmond April 10. Donohue also led the team in scoring this season with 30 goals and was also the first player in the program’s short history to win A-10 Player of the Week honors twice in the same season.