JMU's Comeback Comes Up Short in 19-14 Loss at #4 Penn State

Sunday, May 14

University Park, Pa.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

14-7

Penn State

16-3

James Madison

Penn State

JMU's Comeback Comes Up Short in 19-14 Loss at #4 Penn State

5/14/2017 6:00:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Despite recovering from an early seven-goal deficit, No. 16 James Madison wasn't able to hold off fourth-ranked Penn State, falling 19-14 in the second round of the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday afternoon at the PSU Lacrosse Field.

The Nittany Lions improved to 16-3 and advance to next weekend's NCAA quarterfinals against No. 5 Princeton, while the Dukes saw their season end at 14-7.

Junior attacker Kristen Gaudian scored four goals, while sophomore midfielder Hanna Haven tallied four points off three goals and an assist. Junior midfielder Haley Warden had two goals and one helper while also contributing four draw controls to tie the JMU single-season record for draw-control wins.

Also turning in multi-point afternoons were junior midfielder Elena Romesburg and junior attacker Kristen Gaudian. Romesburg tallied two goals, and Kerrigan produced a goal and two assists. Senior midfielder Hannah Jablonski was solid in the midfield, coming up with six draw controls to match her career high. Romesburg led the Dukes with nine hustle stats, coming up with three draw controls, three caused turnovers and three ground balls. Senior goalkeeper Emily Poelma made the second-most saves of her career, with 12, while also collecting three ground balls.

PSU out-shot JMU 36-30, including 31-22 in shots on goal. The Nittany Lions edged the Dukes in draw controls (18-17) and led in ground balls (19-13), while the Dukes had a lead in caused turnovers (11-7).

The Nittany Lions were led by Madison Carter, who had career highs of eight points (six goals, two assists) and 12 draw controls. Four other PSU players had at least four points, as Katie O'Donnell scored four times, and Maria Auth had three goals and one helper.

PSU surged out to an 8-1 lead just under 15 minutes into the first half, but the Dukes responded with a huge run to erase the deficit. After ending a nearly 18-minute drought, JMU scored five of six goals over the final 8:11 to climb to within three, at 9-6, heading into halftime.

The Dukes rolled the momentum into the second half, beating the PSU goalie three more times in the opening 3:11 to cap an 8-1 run and knotting the game at 9-9 with 26:49 to play. The Nittany Lions answered JMU's run with one of their own, scoring five straight to claim a 14-9 advantage with 16:35 left. JMU scored the next three to make it a 14-12 ballgame with just under 12 minutes to play. The teams traded goals, but PSU used a 3-0 run late to hold off JMU's upset bid.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

DUKES SET PAIR OF CONFERENCE RECORDS
JMU set two Colonial Athletic Association records during Sunday's second-round game at Penn State. The Dukes broke their own conference marks for goals and points. In 2017, JMU scored 271 goals, surpassing its 2015 record of 265. It also accrued 382 points, beating the 2015 record of 378.

The Dukes also set a single-season draw controls record, winning 267 this season, which ranks second in the CAA's single-season history. The Dukes also caused 230 turnovers, which ranks second in the CAA (dating back to 2001).

THANK YOU SENIORS
JMU's "Fab Five" seniors, consisting of Margaret Tucker Fogarty, Hannah Jablonski, Cristina McCarthy, Leah Monticello and Emily Poelma, played their final game Sunday, completing their careers with a 50-29 record. The Dukes won a pair of CAA titles (2015, 2017) and advanced to three consecutive NCAA Championships, winning a first-round game for the first time in seven years on Friday night.

PHOTO OF THE GAME - view full photo gallery

WARDEN ONE OF JMU'S BEST ON THE DRAW
Haley Warden was a dominant midfielder all season long, and she completed her junior campaign with 69 draw controls, which matched JMU's 2015 record set by Steph Finley. That total is also tied for ninth in CAA history. Warden also produced a team-record 47 caused turnovers, which is tied for second in league history.

KERRIGAN DISHING THE ASSISTS
Katie Kerrigan was a solid outlet for feeding passes inside the 8-meter, as she finished her junior season with 44 assists. That mark ranks second in JMU history and it is tied for fifth in conference history.

OVER THE HALF CENTURY MARK
First Team All-CAA attacker Kristen Gaudian surpassed a milestone few in JMU history have ever reached. On Sunday, she went over 50 goals, marking the ninth time a JMU player has ever made it to 50 goals in a single season. Her 53 tallies ranks sixth on the program's single-season list.