Dukes Surge into CAA Title Game with 14-7 Triumph Against #25 Hofstra

Friday, May 7

Harrisonburg, Va.

8:35 p.m.

James Madison University

10-4

Hofstra

6-6

Hofstra

James Madison

Dukes Surge into CAA Title Game with 14-7 Triumph Against #25 Hofstra

5/7/2021 11:53:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Second-seeded James Madison used a pair of big scoring runs and got a huge boost defensively by goalkeeper Molly Dougherty en route to a 14-7 victory over third-seeded Hofstra in the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Lacrosse Championship semifinals Friday night at Sentara Park.

The 20th-ranked Dukes improved to 10-4 on the year and advanced to their seventh consecutive CAA title game, while the Pride fell to 6-6 on the year. The win avenged an earlier season loss to Hofstra, as the Dukes improved to 40-13 (.755) all-time at the CAA Championship.

Dougherty was clutch between the pipes, as she recorded 13 saves with a .650 save percentage against the Pride's attack. That included holding Hofstra and CAA all-time scoring leader Alyssa Parrella to just one goal on 11 shots.

On the opposite end, three Dukes recorded hat tricks, as Charlotte Haggerty and Isabella Peterson each had three goals and an assist, while Kacey Knobloch also had three goals. Katelyn Morgan provided two goals and one assist, and Katie Checkosky added one of each.

JMU was dominant in the circle, flipping the script from its regular-season matchup against Hofstra, holding an impressive 16-7 lead in draw controls. Lizzy Fox recorded a career-high seven draws with two ground balls, and Rachel Matey had five draws and two ground balls. Peterson also added three.

History was made on defense in the win. Emma Johnson recorded one caused turnover, the 120th of her career, to become the JMU all-time leader in caused turnovers. She surpassed former JMU All-American and current assistant Haley Warden, who had 119.

After Hofstra led 2-1 early, the Dukes put together four straight goals to lead 5-2, holding the Pride without a score for nearly 11 minutes. JMU scored a late first half goal on a coast-to-coast play and netted the first four of the second half to mount an 11-4 advantage. The Pride ended its drought over 18 minutes with back-to-back tallies, but they never drew closer than five down the stretch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

JMU out-shot Hofstra 32-23, including a 23-20 lead in shots on goal
After losing the draw-control battle 16-6 to HU earlier this year, the Dukes won the circle 16-7, including a 9-3 margin in the first half.
The Dukes had 10 turnovers, as opposed to Hofstra's 11, and each team recorded four caused turnovers.
JMU also led in ground balls by a 12-10 count.
The Dukes cashed in on 4 of 7 free-position attempts, while the Pride was 2 of 4.
Hofstra's Katie Whelan led all scorers with four goals, while Parrella had a goal and four assists. Jess Smith made nine saves in goal for the visitors.
JMU improved to 6-2 all-time against Hofstra in the tournament and 4-0 in games played at home.

BACK IN THE TITLE GAME

JMU is making its seventh straight appearance in the CAA title game and the 19th in program history.
The Dukes are seeking its fourth consecutive conference tournament championship, which would be a first for any CAA team.
The Dukes have won a league-record 12 conference championships.
This will be the second meeting between JMU and Drexel, as the Dukes beat the Dragons 12-3 in the 2016 semifinals in Philadelphia.

QUOTING COACH SHELLEY KLAES
"We had great momentum and are firing on all cylinders. Our draw-control game is on point; we're making huge stops on the defensive end and it's translating into goals. It's really exciting to see so many different players show up on the scoreboard. Hofstra is such a special team. We had to play great team defense and we needed seven threats on offense, and that's what you saw here today."

UP NEXT
JMU faces top-seeded and 10th-ranked Drexel on Sunday in the CAA Championship game. The game is set for a noon start at Sentara Park and will be streamed on Lax Sports Network.