Dukes earn at-large bid to NCAA tournament

FILE PHOTO Freshman midfielder Melanie Schaffer takes a shot during JMU's 1-0 victory over GMU in the CAA tournament. JMU plays Virgina Friday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

The Dukes earned an at-large bid into the 2004 NCAA tournament and will play Atlantic Coast Conference champion the University of Virginia in a first-round match 5 p.m. Friday, in Charlottesville.

JMU’s Colonial Athletic Association championship hopes were spoiled by Virginia Commonwealth University in the tournament semifinals, losing 2-1 in overtime Oct. 12.

"We dominated in the VCU game," coach David Lombardo said, "They got a lucky goal in overtime, which was unfortunate."

JMU wasn’t expecting the bid into the NCAA tournament.

"We thought we needed to at least get to the conference finals to have a shot," Lombardo said.

Instead, for the first time since 1995, three teams from the CAA were invited to the NCAA tournament: VCU, the College of William & Mary and JMU.

The NCAA bid was an accomplishment in itself, Lombardo said. The Dukes finished the season with an overall record of 11-7-3.

"It is a validation that you are one of the better teams in your conference," Lombardo said. "It is a reward. Every team is looking for a chance to win a championship and extend their season."

In the seven times JMU has qualified for the NCAA tournament, three of them have come from at-large bids instead of automatic qualifications.

"It shows the level of respect that our program has gained over the years," Lombardo said.

The Dukes earned the bid with their strength of schedule. JMU defeated Southeastern Conference power the University of Alabama 2-1 earlier this season and played another SEC power the University of South Carolina, losing 3-2, Lombardo said.

The Dukes also playing nationally ranked Penn State to a scoreless tie.

JMU last squared off with UVa. (16-2-2) in the middle of a six-game road trip during the regular season and suffered a 5-0 loss. However, a red card issued to JMU forced the Dukes to play a man down for the remaining 56 minutes of play. At the time of the red card, JMU was down 1-0.

"The Uva. game left our players with the nagging question of what would have been," Lombardo said. "Now they have a chance to answer that.

"Nobody is simply happy to be there. We’ve gotten this far through being competitive, everyone wants to win."

Lombardo also mentioned that in each NCAA appearance thus far, the Dukes have gone on to win their first game.

"We are the underdog," Lombardo said. "But we just want an opportunity to prove ourselves."