Curse reversed
Dukes beat Rams, will take on UNC-W
By John Galle, sports editor
Posted on November 2, 2006

Six get in. Six go home. And after the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association women’s soccer tournament, No. 6 JMU is still standing.

Just to get into the postseason, JMU (5-4-2) had to bounce back from three straight losses in early October. In the last five games of the regular season, the Dukes won four and tied once to slip past Hofstra University (5-5-1) into CAA title contention.

The defining win came in their final game at home against rival Virginia Commonwealth University Friday. Senior midfielder Annie Lowry scored all of Madison’s goals on her way to her first career hat trick.

The 3-1 victory earned the Dukes the sixth seed and got them a date with VCU in the first round of the CAA tournament. The Dukes blanked them 5-0 Monday, even with Lowry man-marked and double-teamed all game. Freshman forward Corky Julien led JMU with two goals and two assists.

“On the outside looking in, this looked like an upset,” JMU coach Lombardo said. “But we’ve beat [VCU] more than we’ve lost to them over the years.”

Even so, in beating VCU in postseason play, the Dukes broke a curse of sorts while getting revenge on a Rams team that has ended their postseason in each of the past two years.

“That was a big hurdle,” Lombardo said. “I knew we’d have a chance to win it, but I didn’t know we’d have an offensive explosion.”

The Dukes will look to stay hot tonight when they take on No. 2 UNC-Wilmington at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex at 5 p.m. Earlier in the year, UNC-W handed the Dukes a 2-0 loss on their home turf.

“Not often do we get a do-over and this is our chance,” Lombardo said.

The winner of JMU’s game will face the winner of Old Dominion versus William & Mary for the CAA title.