Tribe Lacrosse Falls to JMU, 11-8

04/02/04 8:04PM

HARRISONBURG, VA - William and Mary’s women’s lacrosse team fell to James Madison tonight, 11-8, in Harrisonburg. The Tribe fell behind 8-4 at the half before battling back in the second half, but falling short in the end.

The seventh-ranked Dukes jumped out early, scoring the game’s first goal before the Tribe battled back to tie things up on a goal by sophomore Colleen Dalon. After JMU scored three straight goals, Tribe senior Laurice Rutledge scored on a pass from Laura Nolan to make the score 4-2.

Two straight goals by the Dukes widened the lead to 6-2, but then W&M matched those with a pair of scores by senior captain Nicole Lewis and freshman Emily Vitrano. The Dukes then put two more scores on the board to take the four-goal lead at the half.

After James Madison began the second half by extending its lead to 9-4, the Tribe then scored four of the game’s next five goals to make things interesting. Vitrano scored again off a pass by Morgan Watkins, followed by a goal by senior Kelly McQuade at the 26-minute mark.

The Dukes notched another goal, but again it was the duo of Vitrano and McQuade coming up big for W&M, putting up one goal each to narrow the lead to 10-8 with just under 10 minutes remaining. However, JMU put up the final score of the game with 4:45 left to set the final margin.

Vitrano led the Tribe with three goals and an assist. McQuade scored twice for W&M. The Tribe outshot the Dukes, 27-19.

Goalie Debbie Petracca made nine saves for the Tribe in a solid defensive effort.

W&M is now 4-5 on the season, and 0-1 in CAA play. William and Mary returns to action on Sunday when it hosts George Mason at noon at Busch Field.


Box Score