HARRISONBURG, Va., April 3, 2007 -- Eight James Madison players scored goals to lead the No. 6 women's lacrosse team past Loyola 17-7 Tuesday afternoon at the JMU Lacrosse Field. JMU improved its record to 7-2 while the Greyhounds of Loyola fell to 2-8 on the season.

The Dukes jumped to an early 1-0 lead just 35 seconds into the game with a free-position goal by senior Maria Bosica (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron).

Loyola countered with a score at 26:59 by sophomore Colleen O'Keefe (Madison, N.J./Oak Knoll), but JMU went on a three-goal scoring run over 3:42 to take a 4-1 lead. The Greyhounds refused to back down, however, scoring back-to-back goals at 18:04 and 9:09 to narrow JMU's lead to one, 4-3.

The end of the first half saw JMU scoring two of the final three goals including an aggressive play by junior Annie Wagner (Annapolis, Md./St. Paul's) in which she used her footwork to flip around two defenders and strike for the score at 1:25.

The Dukes entered halftime holding a narrow 6-4 lead. The second half saw JMU explode from the start on a 6-0 scoring run over 12:43. The run included goals from four different players.

Senior Kelly Berger (Columbia, Md./Hammond) and senior Lynlea Cronin (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) traded two goals each to open the second half. The fifth goal came at 25:21 when sophomore Jess Brophy (Berwyn, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) recovered a ground ball after a Loyola turnover and took advantage of a lone Greyhound defender by dishing the ball to Wagner for the score.

Freshman Nina Emala (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) then scored the first of her three goals at 21:07 off an assist by Berger. Loyola's first goal of the second half came at 17:17 when freshman Jessie Heisterman (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) passed the ball to junior Alicyn Brunnett (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) from behind the net for a quick score.

With the game standing at 12-5, the Dukes went on a 5-0 scoring run spanning 9:09 which included goals by Cronin, senior Sarah Steinbach (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West), junior Lauren Bradley (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll), and back-to-back scores by Emala. The first of Emala's goals came on a diving shot in front of the net at 8:41.

Loyola junior Maura Kenny (Newtown Square, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) and O'Keefe scored the final two goals of the game in the last four minutes.

Berger, Wagner, Cronin and Emala each scored three goals. Bosica had two scores, and junior Emily Haller (Fallston, Md./John Carroll), Steinbach and Bradley ended the game with one goal each.

Berger ended the match with game-highs in assists (2) and points (5). Loyola was led by Brunnett with three goals.

JMU junior goalkeeper Kelly Wetzel (Catonsville, Md./Mount De Sales) played for 51:48 and tallied eight saves while freshman goalkeeper Morgan Kelly (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's) played for 8:22 and collected one save.

Loyola freshman goalkeeper Karen Nicolaus (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) played the entire game and finished with six saves.

Next, the Dukes will open Colonial Athletic Association play on Friday, April 6, in a home game against Towson at 4:00 p.m.

- - - -

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
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Loyola..............  4  3 -  7
James Madison.......  6 11 - 17
 
Loyola SCORING:
GOALS: BRUNNETT, Alicyn 3; O'KEEFE, Colleen 2; MCHARG; Kate 1;
       KENNY, Maura 1.
ASSISTS: FILIPPELLI, Kate 1; HEISTERMAN, Jessie 1.
 
James Madison SCORING:
GOALS: Berger, Kelly 3; Cronin, Lynlea 3; Wagner, Annie 3; Emala,
       Nina 3; Bosica, Maria 2; Steinbach, Sarah 1; Bradley, Lauren 1;
       Haller, Emily 1.
ASSISTS: Berger, Kelly 2; Brophy, Jess 1; Fuchs, Natasha 1;
         Steinbach; Sarah 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Loyola.............. 13  9 - 22
James Madison....... 11 16 - 27
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
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Loyola..............  4  7 - 11
James Madison.......  5  9 - 14
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
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Loyola..............  6  6 - 12
James Madison.......  5  9 - 14
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     Total
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Loyola..............  3-4   4-6  -  7-10
James Madison.......  4-5   6-9  - 10-14
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
Loyola..............  1-3   1-1  -  2-4
James Madison.......  2-2   1-2  -  3-4
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Loyola..............  4  2 -  6
James Madison.......  5  4 -  9
 
FOULS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Loyola..............  8  9 - 17
James Madison....... 13  9 - 22
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Loyola..............  5  8 - 13
James Madison.......  4  9 - 13
 
PENALTIES - Loyola 1/3:00; James Madison 2/6:00.

2007-04-03