No. 19 JMU Topples Longwood 6-2

Tuesday, August 30

Harrisonburg, Va.

6:30 p.m.

James Madison University

(2-0)

Longwood

(2-1)

Longwood

JMU

8/30/2016 9:45:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score @JMU_FieldHockey Photo Gallery Highlights Box Score FH on Facebook

HARRISONBURG, Va. – On a rain-soaked night, No. 19 James Madison field hockey (2-0) used a strong attack game to topple Longwood (2-1) in a 6-2 victory.

JMU scored the first five goals of the contest, led by a pair from junior forward Hannah Hall to start the game, including her second penalty stroke of the season. She also added two assists to a pair of goals off penalty corners that bridged the halves, giving her a career-high six points on the evening.

Longwood broke up the shutout when Edel Nyland sent the ball into the right corner in the 57^th minute of action. Junior goalkeeper Sara Kraeutler finished the evening with one save and a pair of goals against her after a final Longwood score at the 66:10 mark. The JMU defense kept Longwood from a shot-on-goal until the second half.

The Lancers' keeper, Lauren Bernard, made two saves and allowed six goals from five different Dukes on the night. JMU doubled the number of penalty corners earned by Longwood at 4-2, leading to two JMU goals scored.

The Dukes wrap their season-opening home stand on Friday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. when they take on Appalachian State.

CAREER NUMBERS

Junior forward Hannah Hall posted the second multi-goal game of her career on Tuesday with two. Her only other multi-goal game also came against Longwood, one year ago exactly (Aug. 30, 2015).
Freshman forward Cassie Hunter notched her first collegiate point when she made the steal and passed it off to sophomore Sarah Floeter in the 45^th minute.
Freshman midfielder Florien Sondern tallied her first collegiate goal when she sent home a hard shot from the top of the circle on a penalty corner.

TWEET OF THE NIGHT

Goal! JMU opens up the scoring in the 2nd half with a goal off a corner by Florien Sondern! JMU leads 4-0! pic.twitter.com/xfhHY8jnkv
— JMU Field Hockey (@JMU_FieldHockey) August 30, 2016

ROYAL LINES
In the all-time series between JMU and Longwood, the Dukes hold a 23-3 advantage. They have won 22 consecutive contests, dating back to a 2-1 win at home on Nov. 2, 1977. Christy Morgan is now 3-0 all-time against the Lancers.

PHOTO OF THE NIGHT
A rain-soaked night set the scene for a tough game at home. The full photo gallery is available here.

IN ON THE ACTION
In Tuesday's game, 18 of 22 Dukes saw action in the contest. Of those 18, three saw action for the first time in 2016: Sarah Floeter, Alicia Cooperman, Emilly Schutt.

FIRST OF THE YEAR

Junior forward Melanie Kusakavitch scored her first goal of the season at the 31:55 mark off a tipped-in shot from a penalty corner.
Sophomore midfielder Sarah Floeter, making her first appearance of the year, jumped onto the scoresheet with her shot from freshman forward Cassie Hunter at the 44:56 mark.
Sophomore forward Ashley Gippe tallied her first goal of the season when she committed the steal and finished the breakaway from about 10 yards out with just under 11 minutes to play.

PENALTY STROKES
This is the first time since the Sept. 13-18 span of last season that the Dukes have scored off penalty strokes in back-to-back games (VCU, Appalachian State). It is only the fourth time this decade (2010-present) that JMU has tallied penalty strokes in back-to-back contests.

UP NEXT
JMU concludes its season-opening home stand with a visit from Appalachian State on Friday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. The Dukes are 17-1-1 all-time against the Mountaineers and are currently on a nine-game win-streak. JMU and App State last faced off in Harrisonburg on Sept. 21, 2013, a 7-0 shutout in favor of the Dukes to improve the Dukes' home record against the Mountaineers to 9-0.