Madison Falls to the Tribe in Overtime

Momentum has been hard for the JMU lacrosse team to establish this season, and in its first conference game that trend continued.

The Dukes (4-6) got an early lead against Colonial Athletic Association rival William & Mary (5-6), but it wasn't enough as No.19 JMU fell in overtime 11-10.

The Loss marks the fourth time this season the Dukes have lost by two or fewer goals and the first time they have lost at home.

Ten seconds into the game, senior attacker and co-captain Annie Wagner fired her first of three goals past Tribe goalkeeper Emily Geary to give the Dukes 1-0 lead. Less than a minute later, junior attacker Jamie Dardine added a goal of her own to boost JMU up 2-0.

The Tribe bounced back, scoring five of the next six goals to take a 5-3 lead, thanks in part to two goals from midfielder Clare Dennis.

But three unanswered goals from Wagner, senior midfielder Emily Haller and senior attacker Julie Stone ended the first half, helping the Dukes steal back the momentum and go into halfttime with a 6-5 lead.

But at the 18:02 mark William & Mary took control of the game, scoring four unanswered goals to take a 10-8 lead.

"We have a rule of thumb -- to allow no more than three goals at a time," JMU head coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. "The game of lacrosse is a lot of goals in a quick amount of time, so being able to keep a team to only three goals is very important."

JMU would respond with goals from Wagner and Stone to tie the game at 10. With less than two minutes left in regulation the Dukes controlled the ball on W&M's side but were unable to score, sending the game into overtime.

W&M won the opening draw and controlled the ball throughout the first three-minute half; however, an errant pass landed near JMU senior goalkeeper Kelly Wetzel who raced to the ball and caught it on the bounce. The ball was then checked out of bounds by Tribe freshman midfielder Grace Golden. 

With Wetzel out of position, Golden sprinted around the goal to shoot on an open net, giving the Tribe an 11-10 lead they held onto throughout the second overtime period.

"We tend to have lapses of a few minutes that break us in the end, and we lose these heartbreakers," Wagner said.

JMU won 13-5 at Old Dominion on Sunday, improving its CAA record to 1-1. The Dukes next game is Friday away against Delaware at 7 p.m.