Five Games Remaining, Pressure's On

A shocking 11-10 overtime loss to William & Mary on Friday was not how the Dukes (5-6) planned on opening their conference Play. A 13-5 route of Old Dominion on Sunday however, is more of what the Dukes expect from their squad.

JMU's defense forced Old Dominion to a dismal 10 for 19 in clears, and 20 percent shooting from the field. The Dukes' offense was in sync from start to finish; senior attacker Emily Haller led JMU with four goals on four shots, seven Dukes contributed one goal ear and five players came off the bench to score. The Dukes shot 50 percent and eight of their 13 goals were assisted.

"It is always good to get a win after a tough loss, like the one we had against William and Mary," junior attacker Jaime Dardine said. "We are going into the rest of the conference schedule with a clear mind and taking it game to game."

The Dukes lost last year in the Colonial Athletic Association championship 15-13 to Hofstra. Since the loss, the talk surrounding JMU has been about getting back and playing for another chance at the title.

"The pressure is to get to that CAA championship game, that is our ticket to the NCAA tournament," senior defender Brigid Strain said.

The Dukes have five games left on their schedule. Only CAA opponents remain, and three of the five remaining games are at home.

"There is a lot on the line for conference games; each one is equally as important," Haller said. "We are at a point in our season that each game is vital to our goal of a conference title."

But before the Dukes look too far down the road, they must travel to Delaware (8-3) on Friday to take on a fierce Blue Hens squad who came from behind with seven unanswered goals to defeat Hofstra 11-7 on Sunday.

"Right now it is very important for us to focus on the moment, play to play, game to game and not get caught up in the rankings," senior attacker Jackie Gateau said.

The Dukes are in the middle of a three-game road trip as they play at Delaware this Friday at 7 p.m. and then travel to first place Towson on April 13.

The CAA Tournament begins May 2. Currently, JMU ranks fifth in the CAA with a 1-1 conference record. It will need to finish in the top four to reach the conference tournament and have a chance to avenge last year's loss to Hofstra. 

Towson, W&M, Delaware and George Mason currently make up the top four, with defending champion Hofstra in sixth with a 1-2 CAA record.

"Making the conference tournament is the first goal, from there we can talk about winning a championship," JMU coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcbome said.