Furious Rally Comes Up Short in Dukes 12-9 Loss at #6 Penn State

Wednesday, March 8

University Park, Pa.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

5-2

Penn State

7-0

James Madison

Penn State

Furious Rally Comes Up Short in Dukes 12-9 Loss at #6 Penn State

3/8/2017 7:19:00 PM | Lacrosse

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – No. 18 James Madison nearly overcame a six-goal halftime deficit, but two late goals by sixth-ranked Penn State staved the comeback attempt, as the Dukes fell 12-9 in non-conference women's lacrosse action on Wednesday afternoon at the Penn State Lacrosse Field.

The Nittany Lions stayed unbeaten at 7-0, while the Dukes saw their five-game win streak come to an end, as they dropped to 5-2 on the year.

Trailing 9-3 at the half, JMU mounted a big rally over the final 30 minutes. The Dukes gained momentum with a pair of goals in the first 64 seconds of the second half to trim the deficit to 9-5. After a PSU goal with 25:20 left, the hosts wouldn't score for another 22:32, as the Dukes reeled off four straight to climb to within one, at 10-9, with 3:37 left. The Nittany Lions were able to win the final three draw controls to set up insurance scores.

Making her return after nearly 13 months on the sideline due to injury, senior attacker Leah Monticello scored twice off the bench, as she was one of three Dukes to tally two goals. Junior midfielder Haley Warden, sophomore midfielder Hanna Haven were JMU's other multi-goal scorers.

Warden also tied game-high honors with three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Junior defender Corinne Schmidt also had a pair of caused turnovers, and junior midfielder Elena Romesburg led the Dukes with three draw controls.

PSU out-shot JMU 29-22, including 21-18 in shots on goal. The Nittany Lions also led in draw controls (14-9) and ground balls (21-17), while the Dukes held a slim 11-10 lead in caused turnovers.

Senior goalkeeper Emily Poelma (5-2) took the loss between the pipes after conceding seven goals in just over 20 minutes of action. Sophomore Ellie Harmeyer was excellent in nearly 40 minutes of relief, racking up nine saves while giving up just five goals (.643 sv %).

Penn State was led by Abby Smucker, who tallied four points off three goals and an assist. Madison Carter also matched Smucker with three goals. Cat Rainone made nine saves in the victory, and did not allow one free-position goal, as the Dukes were 0-for-4.

QUOTING COACH KLAES-BAWCOMBE
"As soon as we subbed Ellie [Harmeyer], we started to feel some energy come back to our team after she made a few saves," Head Coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. "A lot of our issues in the first half came on not finishing our chances in the attacking end and allowing some soft goals. We talked to them about relaxing, trusting each other and playing our game, and that's exactly what we did in the second half."

SHE'S BACK…
Leah Monticello hadn't played since the Feb. 21, 2016 due to a season-ending knee injury, but she made her return off the bench Wednesday at Penn State. She scored twice for JMU on three shots, and her second goal sparked the team's 4-0 run during the second half.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time now, so I'm very excited to be out there with the team again," Monticello said. "Both of my goals today were helped by my teammates creating space for me so it was a team effort."

DUKES NEARLY ERASE LARGE DEFICIT
JMU's 9-3 deficit seemed insurmountable based off the first half stats, but the Dukes responded out of the break. They tallied two quick goals just over a minute into the half, and after allowing a PSU goal, the defense wouldn't give up another score for 22:32. JMU scored four straight during that span to climb to within one. It wasn't until PSU won the final draw controls and capped off its win with two late goals inside the final three minutes.

UP NEXT
JMU returns home Saturday, March 11 to face Rutgers at 1 p.m. at Sentara Park.