Site: Harrisonburg, Va. (Sentara Park)
Score: #11 JMU 10, High Point 9 (OT)
Records: James Madison (1-0), High Point (1-3)
Next HPU Event: Wednesday, March 3rd, — vs Davidson at 4:00 PM (Vert Stadium, High Point, N.C.)
HARRISONBURG, Va. — The High Point University women’s lacrosse team fell in the last second in a heartbreaker 10-9 to #11 James Madison on a snow-covered Sentara Park field. The Panthers put forth an incredible effort against a top fifteen opponent in brutal conditions. Abby Hormes had another big day for HPU as she scored four goals and added an assist for five points in the game. Kaely Kyle and Rachel Foster scored two goals in big moments down the stretch for the Purple & White.
“I’m really proud of this team for fighting through the adversity they faced throughout the game today, head coach Lyndsey Boswell said. “Unfortunately, when push came to shove at the end of the game, a few things didn’t go our way. We got better this week and that level of lacrosse is what we hope to see again at the end of the season, so we are grateful for the learning opportunities.”
The two sides showed they were evenly matched from the start as the game remained scoreless through the first twelve minutes. Sarah Zeto put on an impressive performance inside the cage for HPU. In the first ten minutes of the game, the senior made three saves to keep the game scoreless. JMU found the first goal of the game with 17:56 remaining while the field was still dry. Hormes got the offense going for the Panthers as she answered the Dukes goal 46 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1. The game found a new gear as less than a minute later JMU scored again to go up 2-1.
It was Emma Genovese who scored the second goal for The Panthers to help High Point tie it up once again. She was assisted by Rachel Foster with 13:59 left to play. The pattern would continue as JMU would again go ahead but HPU followed up with the answer as Nicole Pugh found Hormes who scored to tie the game at three with 11:04 to play. The first Hormes goal initiated a 3-2 run for the Panthers. Hormes would go on to score two more goals in the first half to give HPU a 5-4 advantage with 9:48 left to play, The Panthers’ first lead of the day. JMU grabbed a late goal in the first half to tie it at the break 5-5.
The Panthers opened the second half fast and struck first as Hormes won the draw and got it to Kyle who shot, the ball came flying off the post where Foster caught it put right back on cage to score and put HPU up 6-5. A little less than three minutes later JMU tied it at six. After exchanging goals again, it was 7-7 with 20:41 left to play. Coming out of a timeout with the ball HPU had 12 seconds left on the possession clock the Panthers beat the buzzer to find their eighth goal of the day as Kyle scored. High Point went up 8-7 with 18:03 left to play. At this point, the snow was intensely coming down. Kyle gave the Panthers the ninth goal of the day as she scored off of a free position on a woman-up opportunity with 9:55 left to play which gave High Point a two-goal advantage.
The High Point defense made some huge plays down the stretch in the last ten minutes of the game as the snow was so heavy it made it tough to see through let alone compete through. Kay Rosselli and Abbie Karalis shined in the final stretch as the duo eliminated scoring opportunities for the Dukes and caused several crucial turnovers.
The Dukes were able to find two goals to force overtime. The Dukes used a breakaway moment off of a restart to create a scoring opportunity in overtime to win.
Zeto ended her impressive day with eight saves. The senior was challenged to make several saves at point-blank range in heavy snowfall.
UP NEXT: The Panthers return to Vert Stadium to host Davidson on Wednesday, (March 3rd). First draw will be at 4:00 PM with the game being streamed on ESPN+.