Posted on March 22, 2006
Eight different scorers propelled the No. 6 (Inside Lacrosse Magazine) JMU lacrosse team to a 16-9 victory over No. 7 Dartmouth Tuesday afternoon at the JMU Lacrosse Complex — a balance becoming a common occurrence for the Dukes’ offense this season.
“That’s normal,” JMU coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. “That’s something we’ve been seeing and that’s what I’m trying to explain to this team. We do have great individual players, but no team can come in here and think they can take Kelly Berger or Annie Wagner out of the game and beat JMU.”
When all was said and done, JMU junior attacker Annie Wagner and senior midfielder Kelly Berger each scored a game-high four goals, as the Dukes (5-1) out-shot the Big Green (3-2) 38-27 and never trailed.
“If you look at all the stats, they out-hustled us,” Dartmouth coach Amy Patton said. “They deserved to win. They outshot us, we had a lot more turnovers, [and] they won draw controls and ground balls.”
Wagner led JMU’s offense early on, scoring the first goal of the game at 27:12. And when Dartmouth knotted the score at 6-6 in the opening minute of the second half after clawing its way back with two goals right before halftime, Wagner buried another goal to start an unanswered, three-goal run for JMU.
“I think [Wagner] was in a slump for a second,” Berger said. “And I think every great player goes through that, we’ve all gone through it … [but] she didn’t let it affect her. She just kept shooting … and she’s one of the best shooters on this team.”
Likewise, Berger found herself in a sort of slump, frustrated by Dartmouth’s top defenders in the first half, as she was limited to one goal and one assist.
“As frustrating as it is to be in that situation where everyone is out to get you, you have to rise above that and fight back with talent,” Klaes-Bawcombe said of Berger.
In the second half, she did just that. Berger doubled her offensive production by notching an early assist and scoring three goals in a five-minute span.
The Dukes also controlled 11 of 15 draws in the closing period, while their offense finished strong, scoring six of the last seven goals in the final 16:36.
“We’ve been talking about shutting the door and putting it out early, instead of trying to make it a game,” Berger said. “We let them come back in it in the first half, and we decided we’re not going to let that happen again. It’s our fifth game that this has happened and we don’t want it to happen anymore.”
Berger said that JMU’s offense and defense fed off each other all day. The defense, in particular, made junior goalkeeper Kelly Wetzel’s job a whole lot easier.
“[I] had such a strong defense in front of me,” Wetzel said. “It was the best effort we’ve put out. Our whole unit can come out of this game feeling so strong.”
Wetzel did her part by stopping 12 shots, thus increasing her double-digit saves streak to six games.
“I think she’s just playing within herself,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “And that’s what we’re asking everyone to do … and collectively as a unit we can conquer. The best thing about Wetzel right now is she’s very consistent. She’s not too high, not too low, she’s just giving us exactly what we need, which is a couple saves here and there.”
Klaes-Bawcombe praised the Dukes’ defensive unit as well.
“I think that this [game] gives our defense proof that they do have what it takes. We’ve been relying on our offense for the past couple of games and this is exactly what we need heading into next week with Longwood and U.Va.”
