JMU Lacrosse Wins CAA & Earns NCAA Matchup With Louisville

The JMU Women’s Lacrosse entered the CAA Tournament this past weekend as the number one seed. They proved they deserved it and steamrolled Elon today by the score of 15-7 to win the CAA Championship. It was the Dukes 10th CAA title in program history. After battling Delaware to a 11-10 overtime victory in the semifinals, JMU took much of the suspense out of this one early. The Dukes rushed out a 6-0 lead and pretty much never looked back. Elon actually outshot JMU by a 22-20 margin. As the coach speak cliche goes though, “ground balls win lacrosse games” and JMU managed to scoop up 19 compared to 14 for the Phoenix. JMU also benefited from great defense and solid goaltending all game. Haley Warden netted a hat trick and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Leah Monticello, Emily Poelma, and Caroline Sdanowich also received All Tournament honors.

The victory moved JMU to 13-6 on the year and locked up the CAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Dukes will face the Louisville Cardinals in round one. Louisville earned an at-large bid after losing in the first round of the ACC Tournament to UVA. The Cardinals finished 11-7 for the season and were ranked 18th in the Coaches Poll and 19th in the Inside Lacrosse Poll. JMU was right on their heels at 19th and 20th respectively. The Cardinals coach, Kellie Young, is no stranger to the JMU program. She coached the Dukes from 2002-2006 prior to current coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe taking the position. Young guided JMU to three NCAA bids during her time. This is the 4th straight tournament for Louisville and the 3rd straight for the JMU.

The game will take place on Friday in University Park, PA. A win would earn the Dukes a rematch against #4 Penn State. JMU fell to the Nittany Lions 12-9 on the road back in March. Elon and Towson both got at-large bids, bringing the total to 3 teams from the CAA. Winning the league proves JMU is no joke. The Dukes also played a great out of conference schedule, so the ladies won’t be afraid of any team in the tourney. The Dukes could be set up to make a run.