JMU rallies, beats Hofstra

Lacrosse

Kyra Papafil / senior photographer Freshman attacker Kelly Berger drives past the Hofstra University defense during JMU's 12-9 victory over the Pride Friday at the JMU Lacrosse Complex.

After falling behind 6-3 in the first 20 minutes, the No. 8-ranked JMU's women's lacrosse team came back to defeat Colonial Athletic Association foe Hofstra University 12-9. The win improved the teams conference record to 5-0 and 10-3 overall.

Once again, the Dukes were led by senior midfielder Gail Decker, who was the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week ending April 13 and currently is the nation's leading scorer.

Decker had 3 goals for the game, increasing her school career goals record to 176, which broke the old mark of 161.

"It's a huge responsibility being a leader for this team," Decker said. "With our 10-3 record, it has really helped me individually to get records and I know I always have my team behind me.

"Leading is easy with this team," she added. "We all want it so much."

The team struggled early on in the game as Hofstra was able to capitalize on JMU'S mistakes, taking an early 6-3 lead.

Tied 2-2, the Dukes replaced junior goalkeeper Amy Altig with sophomore Livvy King. However, she would return eight minutes later and would play a key role in the rest of the game.

With 1:08 left in the first half, Altig came up with a big save that led to the ball being sent downfield for freshman attacker Monica Buck's goal with 25 seconds left in the half. The goal tied the game at 7 a piece.

"I was feeling sluggish in the first half, but my defense was playing phenomenally,"Altig said. "They came together and stepped up as a unit. It helped me to stay calm and composed. I knew I had the team there for me."

The Dukes' momentum from the first half continued in the second when they scored three unanswered goals and the defense shut down the Hofstra offense for over 15 minutes.

After Hofstra drew the score closer at 10-8, Atlig again came up with a big save to keep the Dukes' momentum alive.

"The team really struggled to focus on the game plan early on, and Hofstra scored the way we knew they would," coach Kellie Young said. "However, we showed our mental toughness and came back after being down to a feisty team."

After Hofstra cut the lead to 10-9 with only four minutes left, the Dukes went into full speed. Senior midfield Erin Chantler's goal with two minutes left set up the final blow for sophomore attacker Brooke Mckenzie, who added the last score as time expired.

Junior attacker Jessica Brownridge also had an exceptional game as she contributed three goals and one assist for the day.

"For the next few games and going into the conference tournament, we need to follow our game plan better on defense, attack and midfield," Young said. "The next three games are important because we want to hold the conference tournament at home."

"Home seed for the [CAA tournament] is real important," Decker said. "We want a large crowd to support and help us."