Madison not CAA tournament-bound

Dukes fail to make conference tourney for first time in history

For the first time in the history of the JMU women’s lacrosse program, the Dukes won’t be going to the Colonial Athletic Association conference tournament. But with two regular season games remaining, Kellie Young’s squad shows no signs of being a doormat for its opponents.

"I don’t think this team is going to have a problem with that," Young said. "They’re all as frustrated as I am with the results we’ve had that have gotten us to where we are. They’re looking to finish on a high note."

The bar for that high note was set April 15 in the minutes following JMU’s 9-4 loss to the Hofstra University Pride — the loss that eliminated the Dukes from postseason play.

"We set three goals after Hofstra," Young said. "That we were going to beat Drexel, beat Mason, beat Georgetown and end the season 9-7."

The Dukes took their first step Sunday, beating Drexel 10-7 in Philadelphia. Thursday, JMU looks to dispatch of another conference foe, the George Mason University Patriots.

GMU leads the CAA in caused turnovers and Patriot goalkeeper Meg Dentler is second in the conference in save percentage, stopping 174 of the 306 shots she’s faced.

"We’re really going to need to go offensive," Young said. "It hasn’t gone well for us offensively the last few games, so we’re due. People need to move off-ball to create opportunities for the ball-carrier and we need to handle passes inside."

If they can do that, the Dukes will find themselves face-to-face with Dentler, who has played every minute of every game this season.

"She’s good at her feet," Young said of Dentler. "We can shoot to either side and the high corners, but we have to be shooting hard."

Young said that’s been an issue lately.

"We had some great shots against Hofstra, but we were lofting it because we were too worried about placement," Young said. "It’s about firing the shot and having confidence in our shooting ability."

With the CAA postseason field set — No. 1 Hofstra, No. 2 Towson University, No. 3 GMU and No. 4 University of Delaware — Young also said the Dukes might catch the Patriots off-guard.

"Whether we win or lose, it doesn’t change them going in as the third seed," Young said. "If we do everything we need to do, I think it’s more likely for Mason to underestimate us than vice versa."

Of course there’s an in-state rivalry to think about too, but Young said the current state of both teams overshadows that.

"It’s a good rivalry for the players," Young said. "We’ve beaten them the last two years, so that may get them fired up for us, but they’re in the CAAs and we’re not. We’re focusing more on playing our game. We have nothing to lose at this point."

JMU and GMU square off at 7 p.m. in Fairfax.