Balanced Attack Leads JMU Past Richmond, 13-10

Saturday, March 12

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

3-5

Richmond

4-2

Richmond

James Madison

3/12/2016 4:24:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison used a balanced attack and a string of four straight second-half goals en route to a 13-10 victory against Richmond in non-conference lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at University Park. The Dukes improved to 3-5 while the Spiders fell to 4-2 in 2016.

Senior attacker Betsy Angel was one of five Dukes to record two goals as she tied her career high with four assists to finish with a game-high six points. Senior midfielder Jaci Gordon and sophomore midfielder Haley Warden both had two goals and two assists while senior midfielder Taylor Gress tallied a pair of scores and a helper and junior attacker Cristina McCarthy produced two goals.

Both teams had 23 shots on the afternoon but the Dukes outshot the Spiders 19-14 on goal. JMU took advantage of 16 UR turnovers, eight of which were caused. Senior defender Anne Zabel caused three turnovers to go with three ground balls and two draw controls. Senior defender Carter Reifsnider also helped the defense with three ground balls and a caused turnover.

Freshman goalkeeper Ellie Harmeyer received the win in cage for JMU after making four saves on 14 shots on goal. She also collected five ground balls, tying her season high.

Richmond was led by Mia Castagnero, who scored a game-best four goals. Brook Wilson also had two goals and an assist for the Spiders.

Trailing 1-0, JMU scored five straight goals in a 6:31 span to grab a 5-1 lead with 19:28 to go in the first. The Dukes led by as many as five and took a 9-6 lead into the locker room. The Spiders scored four in a row to bridge the halves, opening the second with a pair of tallies in less than five minutes to climb to within a goal at 9-8.

The Dukes answered less than three minutes later with their first goal in nearly 12 minutes, sparking a 4-0 run, in which UR failed to score for 22:27. JMU assisted on three of the four scores to jump ahead 13-8 with 11:48 to go to put the game away.

QUOTING COACH KLAES-BAWCOMBE
"Richmond is a good team, they're being well coached and making a huge push right now and they did that in the game. We had a couple times where we made a huge surge and they were able to win the draws and come back in the game. We had to check ourselves in our intensity and our energy but I was proud of our team today. They did a great job responding and in the end, found a great deal of composure on the attacking end to finish when our team needed it.

TWEET OF THE GAME

.@JMUCoachShelley talks to her victorious JMU team after the 13-10 win on Richmond. #GoDukes #DDP pic.twitter.com/4IhFa5iMiZ
— JMU Lacrosse (@JMULacrosse) March 12, 2016

LEND A HELPING STICK
JMU did a tremendous job sharing the ball, especially on scoring drives. Of the 13 goals scored, the Dukes had nine assists, including four from Betsy Angel and two each from Jaci Gordon and Haley Warden.

DEFENSE STEPS UP
JMU's defensive players rallied around its freshman goalkeeper, forcing eight of UR's 16 turnovers and holding Richmond without a goal for over 22 minutes during the second half. Anne Zabel led the way with three caused turnovers while she, Carter Reifsnider and Ellie Harmeyer combined for 11 of the team's 19 ground balls. All three's ground-ball totals tied their respective career highs.

POSTGAME INTERVIEWS WITH ANGEL AND ZABEL

UP NEXT
JMU opens a three-game road trip next Saturday, March 19 at Rutgers. The Dukes will also face top-10 teams at No. 8 Virginia on Wednesday, March 23 and at No. 1 Maryland on Saturday, March 26.