Bye Week: Around JMU Sports
The football Dukes have reached the bye week just in time to heal some injuries and with exactly the solid 3-1 record most of us expected. If anything, they’ve been a tad better than we thought in dispatching three weaker opponents without too many hiccups, something they’ve had trouble with the last couple seasons. If you’re looking for CAA games of interest this week, you might at least look up the scores and injury reports from ODU v. UR and Towson (JMU’s opponent next week) traveling to Baton Rouge to play the other Tigers from LSU. But this week we’re going to do a quick look around the dustier and neglected (at least by us) corners of JMU Fall Sports. And yes, if it gives
Healthy this year. Dominant this year. Taylor West.
us another chance to hype our favorite program – Field Hockey – well you’re just going to have to read it and like it!
Field Hockey – Our favorite squad is off to a solid 6-3 start and if you want exciting finishes, this is your team. All nine games have been decided by a single goal and the Dukes have won all three OT games they’ve played. That said, if Coach Lucas decides taking away their sticks and running them up Reddish Knob might help prevent a few late-game letdowns, we had nothin’ to do with it. FH opens a huge 7-game homestand tomorrow night against #9 Northeastern and they’re already 2-1 against ranked opponents!
Men’s Soccer – Struggling out of the gate a bit at 3-4-1 overall, but they’re 1-0 in the CAA and the proud owner’s of JMU Athletics’ best win of the year so far with an upset of then #1 UNC in the grand opening game at University Park, the new home for Soccer, Track, and Lacrosse (and someday Field Hockey). The new facilities are over and down the other side of the hill on Port Republic on the way out to Lakeview Golf Course. When we were in school that would have seemed as far as Dayton or Bridgewater, now it’s within sight of the back of UREC.
Women’s Soccer – Going to need to get it going in CAA play but at least they pounded ODU last week.
Volleyball – The women are off to a decent 8-7, 1-0 CAA start and the best part is a new fact we just learned this year. This team, which didn’t exist in Varsity form back in our day, still uses good old Sinclair Gymnasium in Godwin Hall as their home court! No wonder they’ve developed a strong following and tradition so quickly in the truly friendly confines.
When we were in school, the arboretum was so far away from campus, the MRDs took a bus there for their annual picnic.
Man that Dukie95 guy is old as s***.
Wow didn’t realize Towson was taking on LSU. Maybe they’ll be a little beat up and gunshy against the well-rested Dukes.
Towson gave LSU a run for their money. We better be able to stop West.
It was pretty clear that LSU was not into the game, even the commentators noted that. So I would not read too much into this game.
On a separate note, final attendance at FedEx yesterday for Va Tech/Cincinnati was 46k. WVU/JMU drew 45k. While WVU was clearly responsible for a lot of that number, I think JMU brought its shares of fans and demonstrated it could travel just as well as a FBS program and hopefully this will get us another game at FedEx.
LSU is LSU – up or down, most of their key starters are headed to at least a look in the NFL. I am not saying Towson is a world-beater, but it shouldn’t have been that close. VT is not on that same playing field so even as much as I enjoyed our win over them in 2010, their caliber is not the same as an LSU.