Cavaliers roll Dukes in NCAA tournament

University of Virginia midfielder Kelly Hammond scored three goals as the Cavaliers defeated JMU 6-0 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament Friday in Charlottesville.

The Dukes were down 1-0 at halftime, but allowed five UVa. goals in the second half as the Cavaliers took the game over.

"This certainly was not what we were expecting," coach Dave Lombardo said. "We were hoping to have a more competitive game, but they just got rolling in the second half."

Hammond’s hat trick tied an NCAA tournament record for goals in a game. She also added an assist on the game’s fourth goal.

"She certainly decided to find an extra gear," Lombardo said. "I credit her for that."

Junior goalkeeper Jessica Hussey made seven saves for JMU, including several diving stops in the first half as the Dukes attempted to stick with the Cavaliers.

"I credit Jess in the first half," Lombardo said. "She made some tremendous saves. That could have been a runaway 4-0 at halftime."

However, even Hussey’s gritty performance was not enough to stop UVa. from piling on the goals in the second half.

"All of their players are really good," Hussey said. "If we let their players free at the top of the box it’s not a good thing. They capitalized on that."

Lombardo also pointed to his team’s inept offense against UVa. as a reason for the lopsided score.

Lombardo said, "You’re not the No. 3 team in the country because you’re average. We were going to try and absorb their attack as much as we could. We did that in the first half but just didn’t amount to anything significant on the offensive side. It got away from us."

The Dukes offense finished with one shot on goal.

"It was frustrating," sophomore midfielder Sarah Cebulski said. "They’re so good technically and tactically that it’s easy for them to exploit the little things."

JMU suffered an early loss when freshman midfielder Melanie Schaffer went down with an injury as Hammond scored the game’s first goal. Shaffer did not return and the Dukes were forced to play the final 76:11 without their second-leading goal scorer.

"She’s our midfield general," Lombardo said. "It’s like trying to play football without a quarterback. We’re not sure of the severity, but we suspect a torn ACL."

Hammond’s second goal came at 52:40 off a loose ball in the box. She finished the hat trick by lofting a shot over Hussey and just underneath the crossbar at 72:26.

The Cavaliers tacked on two more goals in the final 10 minutes to round out the scoring.

"Their technical speed and understanding of the game is outstanding," Lombardo said. "We wanted to dig in and make this a close game. We did that for 65 minutes, but the game is 90."

The Dukes end their season 11-8-3.