JMU Ices CAA Title, NCAA Tournament Bid
from press release
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CAA All-Tournament midfielder Kim Griffin had a goal and an assist in James Madison's 10-6 win over Hofstra in the conference championship game. |
HARRISONBURG,
Va.-- A balanced attack and a solid defense has carried
the James Madison women's lacrosse team to a number seven national
ranking, a school record 16 wins and a nine-game winning
streak.
But the icing on that cake was the Colonial Athletic
Association Tournament
championship and NCAA Tournament berth that the Dukes (16-2)
claimed Saturday evening with a 10-6 win over
16th-ranked Hofstra(12-6)
in the CAA title game at the JMU
Lacrosse Complex.
JMU senior goalkeeper Morgan
Kelly (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's), voted the tournament's most
outstanding player, needed to make only four stops, while the
Dukes' defense limited Hofstra to just 12 shots.
The JMU attack peppered Hofstra with 27 shots and was led on
offense by junior Mary Kate Lomady (Abington, Pa./Abington) and
sophomore Ariel Lane (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach), each of whom
scored three times.
Lomady was named to the all-tournament team along with redshirt
senior midfielder Kim Griffin (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford),
who had a goal and an assist, and sophomore defender Cally Chakrian
(East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow).
Hofstra players selected to the all-tournament team included senior
attacker Liz Falco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown), sophomore
goalkeeper Jackie Pandolf (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North) and
freshman midfielder Casey Kellogg (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown
West). Pandolf entered the game late in the first half and
made six saves while allowing just four goals.
The
Dukes scored the game's first three goals and never trailed,
although Hofstra was in striking distance for the entire
contest.
JMU scored three times in the opening 7:13, starting with a goal by
sophomore Ariel Lane (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach) off a pass from
Lomady at 26:23 and followed by an unassisted score by Lomady at
15:05. The Dukes' third score came at 12:47, when redshirt
freshman Casey Ancarrow (Jarrettsville, Md./John Carroll) fed a
pass over the top of the goal to sophomore Annie Brophy (Berwyn,
Pa./Archbishop Carroll), who one-timed a shot into the net from
close range.
Hofstra, however, scored three of the game's next four goals to
pull within one, 4-3, on a goal by senior Corrine Gandolfi
(Smithtown, N.Y./Northport) with 5:05 remaining before
halftime.
However, the Dukes responded with two scores in a span of
1:18. Lomady first scored an unassisted goal at 3:42, then
sophomore Caitlin McHugh (Westminster, Md./Mercy) scored off a feed
from Griffin at 2:23, sending JMU into halftime leading 6-3.
Lane converted a free-position attempt just 1:06 into the second
half, putting the Dukes up 7-3. Hofstra never got closer than
three after that, the last time at 9-6 after a Gandolfi goal at
5:26.
As CAA champion JMU receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA
Championships.
The 16-team field for the
NCAA Tournament will be announced between 10-11 p.m. ET Sunday, May
9, on CBS College Sports Network. The field will include
eight automatic bids to six league champions and to winners of two
play-in games. First-round games will be played May 15 or
16.
