Harrisonburg, VA - Senior attack Liz Falco had two goals and one assist and senior midfielder K'Leigh Vanaman added two goals, but it was not enough as the #16 Hofstra Women's Lacrosse team dropped a 14-8 contest to #10 James Madison on Sunday afternoon at the JMU Lacrosse Complex.
The loss drops Hofstra's record to 9-4 overall and 3-1 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. It also ended a three-game win streak for the Pride. JMU improved to 11-2 and 4-0 in CAA action.
James Madison would get on the board first in the contest as Caitlin McHugh and Ariel Lane each tallied goals in the first six minutes to put the Dukes up 2-0 early on.
Hofstra would answer shortly thereafter, and a 4-2 scoring run by the Pride would culminate with an unassisted goal from Falco with 9:59 left in the half that knotted the game at four.
In addition to Falco, Hofstra got goals during the run from senior midfielder Corrine Gandolfi, senior midfielder K'Leigh Vanaman and freshman midfielder Casey Kellogg.
It would be all JMU over the next 6:17, though, as the Dukes exploded for five straight goals to open a 9-4 lead after Kim Griffin found the back of the net with 3:42 left before intermission.
The Pride would gain some of the momentum back to end the half as Falco scored her second goal of the first thirty minutes with five seconds left to close the gap to 9-5.
Hofstra would come out of the halftime break on fire as the Pride scored three of the first four goals in the stanza to close the deficit to two, 10-8, following an unassisted tally from junior attack Stephanie Rice with 22:24 left in regulation.
Down by just two goals, Hofstra would have a couple of opportunities to draw even closer but a shot from Gandolfi was saved by the Dukes goalie and a shot from junior midfielder Jennalee Trombley at the 20:10 mark hit the post.
Lane would push the lead back to three goals at the 19:53 mark before Griffin tallied another goal with 12:50 to play to allow JMU to take a 12-8 advantage.
That would prove to be enough for James Madison as the Dukes held Hofstra without a goal over the final 22-plus minutes in capturing a 14-8 decision.
Vanaman added three draw controls, while Falco chipped in with two.
Griffin led the Dukes with four points on three goals and one assist, while Lane added a hat trick for James Madison.
Hofstra returns to action on Friday, April 23 when they host Delaware at 4 p.m. It will be the Pride's final home contest of the regular season as Hofstra will close with road games at Towson (April 25) and Drexel (April 29).
