Warden, #17 JMU Thrash Hofstra for 17-9 Road Victory

Friday, April 14

Hempstead, N.Y.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

10-5 (4-0CAA)

Hofstra

6-6 (0-3CAA)

James Madison

Hofstra

4/14/2017 10:54:00 PM | Lacrosse

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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Junior midfielder Haley Warden scored a career-high six goals, and No. 17 James Madison used three scoring runs of five goals or more to roll past Hofstra 17-9 in Colonial Athletic Association women's lacrosse action on Friday night at Shuart Stadium.

The Dukes won their fourth straight, improving to 10-5 overall and 4-0 in CAA play, while the Pride fell to 6-6 and 0-3. With the win, JMU secured one of the four spots for next month's CAA Women's Lacrosse Championship, which takes place May 5-7 in Towson, Md.

Warden, who's known primarily for her midfield and defensive play, came alive in the offensive third with six scores on nine shots. She tied her career high in the first half alone, tallying four goals over a span of less than 11 minutes. Warden tied her career best with two free-position goals and won a game-high six draw controls, which was one off her personal record.

She was one of four Dukes to record multi-goal nights, as junior attacker Kristen Gaudian scored three goals and an assist, while sophomore midfielder Hanna Haven and junior midfielder Elena Romesburg both had two tallies.

Sophomore defender Caroline Sdanowich led the Dukes' defense with two caused turnovers and three ground balls, while freshman defender Emma Johnson caused two turnovers and collected a pair of ground balls. Freshman midfielder Halle Duenkel also caused a career-best two turnovers. Junior defender Corinne Schmidt was active in the midfield, winning a career-high three draw controls.

Senior goalkeeper Emily Poelma earned her 10th win between the pipes after making nine saves on 17 shots on goal in a little less than 58 minutes of work.

JMU out-shot the Pride 37-22, including 25-18 in shots on goal. JMU controlled most facets of the game, which included advantages in draw controls (16-12), caused turnovers (11-9), and free-position scores (4-1). Hofstra held the edge in ground balls (21-17).

The Pride was led by Alyssa Parrella, who had three goals and two assists. The league's leading-rookie scorer also had five draw controls, five ground balls and two caused turnovers.

After conceding the game's first goal, JMU scored six straight, including two each from Gaudian and Warden, to take a 6-1 lead with 10:34 to go in the half. Hofstra ended more than a 15-minute scoring drought with three quick goals to close within 6-4, but the Dukes answered with five in a row to end the stanza for an 11-4 halftime lead.

Hofstra struck for three of the first four goals in the second half, but JMU dominated all three thirds of the field over the next 20 minutes, scoring five consecutive goals to activate the running clock, leading 17-7. Hofstra closed the final three minutes with two in a row for the final margin.

QUOTING COACH SHELLEY
"Our big focus tonight was to control the runs," Head Coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. "Our team did a really good job in managing those streaks. We let them get to within 6-4 and called a timeout, but then Haley just took over, winning draws and going to goal. We had another great defensive effort and Poelma did well to back the defense. The offense was firing on all cylinders."

PLAY OF THE GAME

WHAT A GOAL!!! Haley Warden spins and fires for her career-best sixth goal of the night! #CAALax #SCTop10 #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/x0s54BG5Xy
— JMU Lacrosse (@JMULacrosse) April 15, 2017

Haley Warden gets flashy with a spin move and the goal for her career-best sixth score of the night.

HALEY ON FIRE
After being held to just two total goals over her last five games, Haley Warden exploded for a career-high six goals on nine shots (seven on goal). She aided in JMU having two big scoring runs in the first half, scoring her four first half goals over a span of 10:35. Warden added two more in the second half, as she tallied six of the team's first 14.

"The pass-spacing allowed me to have open shots tonight," Warden said. "The off-ball movement was working well and it opened up scoring opportunities for me."

SECURING THEIR SPOT
JMU improved to 4-0 in conference play and clinched a berth in the 2017 CAA Women's Lacrosse Championship. The Dukes are one of two teams to remain unbeaten, as Delaware sits at 2-0. Towson is 2-1 in league play, followed by Elon 1-1. JMU has earned wins over Elon (1-2), Hofstra (0-3) and William & Mary (0-3), which make up the bottom of the standings.

"It's about wrapping up the No. 1 seed. We can't take any team we face lightly. We have to take it one opponent at a time. We're going to have a target on our back and we have to respect our opponent."

ANOTHER WINNING SEASON
With tonight's win, JMU secured its eighth winning season in the 11 seasons under Head Coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe. It is also the ninth time JMU has won at least 10 games since 2007. The Dukes also won at least four conference games for the eighth straight season.

A GAME OF RUNS
JMU utilized three big scoring runs to earn its fourth straight win. Trailing 1-0, JMU scored six straight to grab a 6-1 lead. After HU closed to within 6-4, the Dukes scored five in a row to take an 11-4 lead at the half. JMU also put together a 5-0 run in the second half to go up by 10, at 17-7.

UP NEXT
JMU hits the road next week for two CAA games to close the regular season. The Dukes first face Drexel on Friday, April 21 at 5 p.m. in Philadelphia. They conclude the regular season Sunday, April 23 at 1 p.m. when they battle Delaware in Newark.