Dukes Capture 10th CAA Lacrosse Title with 15-7 Win over Elon

2017 May 24

Top-seeded James Madison jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and three players recorded hat tricks to power the Dukes to the Colonial Athletic Association tournament title with a 15-7 triumph against third-seeded Elon on Sunday afternoon at Unitas Stadium.

The Dukes improved to 13-6 overall and secured the automatic bid for the 2017 NCAA Championship, while the Phoenix fell to 13-6 and will await tonight's selection show to see they will receive an at-large bid. JMU has now won 10 CAA tournament titles, improving to 10-6 in championship games.

Junior midfielder Haley Warden, who scored three goals, to go with three draw controls and two caused turnovers, was named the CAA Championship Most Outstanding Performer after scoring four goals while tallying four caused turnovers, four draw controls and three ground balls.

Joining Warden on the All-Tournament Team were senior attacker Leah Monticello, senior goalkeeper Emily Poelma and sophomore defender Caroline Sdanowich.

Sophomore midfielder Hanna Haven exploded for a career-high seven points off four goals and three assists. The four tallies tied a career best while her assist total was a personal best. In addition to Warden, senior attacker Margaret Tucker Fogarty also tallied three goals in the win. Monticello scored twice with an assist, and junior attacker Katie Kerrigan struck once to go with her game-high three assists.

JMU's defense was tremendous, led by Poelma, who made nine saves on 15 shots on goal to earn her 13th win between the pipes. Junior defender Rebecca Tooker caused three turnovers and collected two ground balls, and junior defender Corinne Schmidt tallied two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Senior midfielder Hannah Jablonski won four draw controls, and Sdanowich picked up a team-high four ground balls.

Despite the lopsided score, Elon managed to out-shoot JMU 22-20 and shots on goal were even, at 16-16. However, the Dukes made their shots count, as First Team All-CAA goalkeeper Rachel Ramirez from Elon made only one save. JMU held advantages in draw controls (19-14), caused turnovers (12-11) and ground balls (19-14) and cashed in on 4-of-7 free-position attempts.

JMU surged to a 6-0 lead just past the halfway point of the first. The Dukes held Elon off the board for nearly 17 minutes to start the game and later took an 8-2 lead into halftime. Leading 10-4, JMU put the game way with a 5-1 scoring run to extend its lead to 15-5 with 8:34 to play.

WARDEN HEADLINES ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Haley Warden netted three goals in the title game and was named the CAA Championship Most Outstanding Player. She was joined by teammates Leah Monticello, Emily Poelma and Caroline Sdanowich on the All-Tournament Team.

All-Tournament Team

• Haley Warden, James Madison (Most Outstanding Performer)
• Leah Monticello, James Madison
• Emily Poelma, James Madison
• Caroline Sdanowich, James Madison
• Stephanie Asher, Elon
• Alexis Zadjura, Elon
• Rachel Ramirez, Elon
• Becky Gohsler, Delaware
• Taylor Carpentier, Delaware
• Natalie Sulmonte, Towson
• Samantha Brookhart, Towson

CONVINCING WIN FOR THE CROWN
JMU captured its 10th CAA tournament crown with Sunday's win, and the margin of victory was one of JMU's largest in CAA title game history. The Dukes' win was their second-biggest win in the title game, second only to the 1999 win, in which they triumphed 17-6 over Loyola. The victory was also the ninth by at least eight goals in program history at the Championship.