October 14, 2006

BOX SCORE

HARRISONBURG, Va.-- The Longwood University field hockey team fell to the 16th-ranked James Madison Dukes 5-0 Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg. The loss puts the Lancers at 4-9 on the season while JMU improves to 10-6 on the year. Longwood will return to action on Tuesday, October 17, as they travel to Charlottesville for a 6 p.m. match-up with tenth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers.

The Dukes went up 1-0, just under four minutes into the contest on a shot from the top of the circle by Melissa Walls for the early lead. The Longwood defense held the powerful JMU offense scoreless for the next 18 minutes. James Madison then went on to score three goals in a 7:30 time period to build a 4-0 halftime lead.

The second half was showed a different Longwood team, as the Lancers came out competitive and put put the JMU defense on its heels. The Dukes later tacked on a goal with 15 minutes remaining in the contest for the 5-0 final. The shutout was the sixth of the season for the Dukes and the fifth in non-conference play.

Junior Avanell Schmitz/Newport News (Denbigh) recorded the loss, making five saves in 70:00 of work. Junior Mary Freeman/Fredericksburg (Stafford) and Kelsey Turner/Virginia Beach (Tallwood) each tallied a shot in the game. Freshman Julia Hernandez/Norfolk (Maury) helped out in the midfield and helped to shut down the Dukes transition in the second half. Outside defenders Katie Murphy/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) and Danielle Woodie/Fredericksburg (Stafford) also had a strong game in the back this afternoon.

"The score really does not reflect the game," said head coach Nancy Joel. "We made mistakes in the first half but played well the second half and stayed with JMU."

JMU held a 19-2 advantage in shots and a 10-3 edge in penalty corners.