A goal in the 39th minute by second-seeded Delaware proved to be the difference in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game for fourth-seeded James Madison field hockey as the Dukes fell 2-1 at Dedham Field in Dedham, Massachusetts.
JMU completes the season with a 12-8 overall record while Delaware improves to 13-8. The Blue Hens receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
With 31:28 left to play, UD’s Michaela Patzner drove into the circle and scored from the right post to take a 2-1 lead over JMU.
Senior goalkeeper Hannah George (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) tallied the loss with two goals allowed and three saves, finishing with a 9-7 record. Emmeline Oltmans earned the win with one goal allowed and three saves, improving to 10-8.
Delaware finished with a 9-8 edge in overall shots, including a 5-1 advantage in the second half. The Dukes held a 7-3 advantage in shots at the close of the first half. The Blue Hens ended with a 4-3 lead in penalty corners.
The Blue Hens got on the board first, scoring off their second corner of the afternoon to take a 1-0 lead with 20:10 left to play in the first half. JMU tied it up eight minutes later as redshirt-junior midfielder Taylor West (Princess Anne, Md./Pocomoke) tipped in a pass from junior back Loes Stijntjes (Steenokkerzeel, Belgium/Heilig Hartcollege) following a corner.
With her goal, West took sole possession of 10th all-time on the JMU career goals chart (40). She also took sole possession of ninth place on the JMU all-time points list (96).
West, Stijntjes and senior back Dana Allaband (Elkton, Md./Rising Sun) were named to the CAA All-Tournament Team. Allaband sits in a tie for sixth on the JMU career assists list (29) after an assist in Friday night’s semifinal win over No. 18 Northeastern.
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Chris Graham
