JMU fights for playoff berth against Delaware

FILE PHOTO Sophomore forward Sarah Cebulski and the Dukes continue their playoff push Thursday against the University of Delaware at the JMU Soccer Complex.

The women’s soccer team defeated the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Sunday, blanking the Seahawks 4-0 at the JMU Soccer Complex.

The win keeps the Dukes’ Colonial Athletic Association tournament hopes alive as JMU embarks on their final two regular season games on the year.

"This is such a big stretch," Lombardo said. "We could finish anywhere from first to seventh [in the conference]."

The Dukes got goals from junior midfielder Karly Skladany, freshman midfielder Annie Lowry, sophomore forward Sarah Cebulski and freshman midfielder Vanessa Brizzi en route to improving their CAA record to 3-2-2 and overall to 8-6-3.

Skladany scored first, striking in the sixth minute. Then, just before the half, Brizzi found the net off a pass from redshirt senior forward Christy Metzger to push JMU’s advantage to 2-0.

"Younger kids are scoring goals that they weren’t earlier," coach Dave Lombardo said.

After the intermission, JMU waited until the final 11 minutes to tack on its last two goals.

Cebulski’s goal came with 10:24 to play, as she scored on a 12-yard shot to the left corner. Freshman midfielder Melanie Schaffer picked up an assist on the goal.

The Dukes’ final score came from Lowry’s head. She banked a header off a Cebulski pass to give JMU its final 4-0 lead.

"It was a back-breaking goal — it was the dagger in the neck," Lombardo said. "She’s 6-foot, 6-foot-1, so she better be good in the air."

The Seahawks now fall to 10-5-1 overall and 1-4-1 in conference, which sits them in ninth place in the CAA, one spot above cellar-dwelling Drexel University.

JMU occupies the seventh slot in the CAA standings, one spot short of a CAA tournament berth as only the top six in the conference qualify for the postseason. Thursday, the Dukes take on the University of Delaware (4-2-1)(9-4-3) who are third in the CAA.

"If we beat Delaware, we put them behind us and they can’t catch us," Lombardo said. "That gives us 17 points and them 16 points. They represent our biggest challenge."

Two days later, JMU faces another CAA opponent in Towson University (2-4-1)(6-9-1) to close out its season Saturday. The Tigers are in eighth place.

"We’re done if all we can do is win two," Lombardo said. "If we don’t, it puts us in the hands of tiebreakers and the results of other games that we have no control over. We want to control our own fates."

After injuries early, the Dukes struggled through the middle of their season with road losses to Old Dominion University and the University of Virginia — a game in which JMU played a player short after a red card in the first 35 minutes.

"We had a six-game road-trip," Lombardo said. "We were just grinding it out and trying to stay alive, and now we see the light at the end of the tunnel."

But the Dukes are mended and healed for the last two games of the regular season.

"The timing is really good," Lombardo said. "We’re playing great and we’re as healthy as we’ve been. We are playing our best soccer of the season."

The Dukes face the Fighting Blue Hens today at 6 p.m. and Towson Saturday at noon. Both games are at the JMU Soccer Complex.