James Madison knocks off Hofstra in women's lacrosse semifinals

Scoring runs by the James Madison University (JMU) Dukes proved to overpower the Hofstra Pride women’s lacrosse team in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship semifinals at Sentara Park on Friday, May 7. The Dukes defeated the Pride by a score of 14-7 to end Hofstra's season.

Katie Whelan opened the scoring column for the Pride just under six minutes into the contest, the Dukes responded when Isabella Peterson tied the game at one apiece.

After Alyssa Parrella gave Hofstra a one-goal lead, the Dukes answered with a four-goal run at the hands of Peterson, Taylor Marchetti, Emma Greenhill and Kacey Knobloch. 

Whelan was able to chip away at Hofstra’s deficit with her second goal of the night, bringing the Pride to within two points with 8:16 remaining in the first half. Charlotte Haggerty matched Whelan a little over a minute later, bringing the Dukes’ lead back to three goals.  

Although Whelan knotted her third goal of the night for the Pride, Peterson completed her own hat trick for the Dukes with 1:06 before halftime. JMU led Hofstra 7-4 at the half.  

The Pride got off to a tough start to open the second half, as the Dukes went on another four-goal run. Goals were scored by Katelyn Morgan, Haggerty, Knobloch and Katie Checkosky as the Dukes extended their lead to 11-4 with 16:23 to play.

Whelan responded with her fourth goal of the night, and Grace Langella added her first of the contest to try to start a rally for the Pride.

After Knobloch added her third goal for the Dukes, Camryn Faith put in her first for the Pride. Two more goals for the Dukes went unanswered, and they went on to defeat the Hofstra Pride 14-7.  

Jess Smith took the loss for the Pride despite nine saves. Parrella led the Pride in assists with four, while also having three ground balls. With her goal in the contest, she now is at 258 for her career, tying herself with the University of Virginia's Amy Appelt for 11th all-time in NCAA history.

Whelan led the Pride in the points category with four, and Darcie Smith led the Pride with two caused turnovers.

Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics