Women’s Soccer ready to make playoff push

The women’s soccer team returns home after a six-game road trip to play Virginia Commonwealth University Friday at 7 p.m.

With a Colonial Athletic Association tournament bid on the line, the Dukes will attempt to finish strong at home in the final four games of the regular season. After going 1-3-2 on the road in the past six games, the Dukes are attempting to get back on track.

"The conference takes the top six teams to compete in the CAA Tournament," coach David Lombardo said. "We are going to probably need 15 points or better to even qualify in conference. It is stacked very tight right now."

The 1-3-2 Dukes currently have 5 points. With four games remaining, every game will be crucial, starting with VCU.

"VCU was the preseason pick to win the conference," Lombardo said.

VCU currently is ranked first in the conference with a record of 4-1-0. JMU is tied in seventh. If the season ended today, the Dukes would not earn a bid to the tournament, despite JMU’s strong schedule thus far.

However, Lombardo is confident in his team.

"The records go out the window at this point," Lombardo said. "We are more battle hardened with our challenging schedule and have a lot more at stake, maybe more so than VCU. We have never had a team not qualify for the conference tournament."

Thus, the Dukes’ road to the conference tournament will start in Harrisonburg. Looking to counter VCU’s potent offense, the Dukes will stick to their game plan.

"Our best defense is our offense," Lombardo said.

Lombardo said sophomore forward Sarah Cebulski and freshman midfielder Melanie Schaffer have been forces on offense, and added that controlling the game early was important for the Dukes.

"We have to bring the competitive spirit like we did against Penn State," Lombardo said. "We need to gain control of the game quickly. If VCU has a lot of the ball, they can be very tough to beat."

.