No. 24 Dukes Claim Win Over Elon WLAX Phoenix

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Elon women’s lacrosse team was unable to stop a hard-charging James Madison team, suffering a 22-5 setback tonight, April 10, to the No. 24 Dukes at University Park.

The Phoenix (7-6, 0-3) finished with seven shots on the day and 10 wins at the draw, including three by Abby Godfrey. Elle Hvozdovic, Kelsey Dupere, Stephanie Asher, Sloane Kessler and Godfrey netted Elon’s five goals on the day, while Kessler also tallied three assists along with one assist by Anna Vitton. Rachel Ramirez recorded 10 saves in goal and picked up five of Elon’s 12 ground balls. The defense caused eight turnovers in the game with two by both Lane Huger and Jacie Cooper.

The JMU offense got right to work rattling off nine goals in the first 15 minutes. With the Dukes leading 13-0, Hvozdovic netted Elon’s first goal off a pass from Kessler with 6:10 remaining in the half before JMU finished the opening frame with a 15-1 advantage.

After the Dukes scored to start the half, Dupere scored off an assist from Kessler at the 25:02 mark to make it a 16-2 game. JMU scored four straight before Asher netted Elon’s third score and her 36th goal of the season with 7:15 remaining. Under two minutes later, Kessler scored the second straight goal for the Phoenix off an assist by Vitton to make it a 20-4 game.

After a caused turnover and ground ball pickup by Cooper, Kessler got the ball to Godfrey for Elon’s third score in just over three minutes. JMU scored twice more in the remaining minutes for the 22-5 final,

JMU (10-4, 2-1) outshot the Phoenix, 36-7, went a perfect 5-for-5 in clear attempts and claimed 10 draw controls. The Dukes saw four goals and four assists from Stephanie Finley, while Ali Curwin, Leah Monticello and Betsy Angel all posted three goals on the night.

Elon returns home to host its first CAA game against William & Mary on Sunday, April 12. The opening draw is set for 1 p.m. in Rhodes Stadium.