Strong First Half Solidifies 3-1 Win for No. 18 JMU over Northeastern

Sunday, October 11

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

(10-3, 4-0CAA)

Northeastern

(4-10, 1-2CAA)

Northeastern

James Madison

Strong First Half Solidifies 3-1 Win for No. 18 JMU over Northeastern

10/11/2015 4:46:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – A strong first half propelled No. 18 James Madison field hockey to a 3-1 victory over Northeastern on Sunday afternoon at the JMU Field Hockey Complex.

Sophomore Melanie Kusakavitch notched her first multi-goal game, beginning with a steal and fast shot in the fourth minute of play. She followed up with a diving shot 20 minutes later, picking up the pass from freshman Melissa Wilken on a fast break.

Wilken had a game-high two assists, feeding redshirt senior Taylor West at the top of the circle for a reverse shot score to round out the JMU scoring in the 28th minute of play.

JMU edged NU 19-17 in shots with a 12-11 lead in shots-on-goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Sara Kraeutler tied her career high in saved shots (9), with her only goal allowed coming in the final seconds of the first half.

The Dukes remained undefeated in Colonial Athletic Association play, now 4-0 for the first time since 2008, and pushed their season record to 10-3. The Huskies fell to 4-10 on the year with a 1-2 mark in league action.

QUOTING COACH MORGAN
"Our goal is to make it a true team game and that's the way it should be, so we're playing very pretty hockey and we're getting everyone involved. We're a team with really good fundamental skill, we don't have a weak spot on the field that we have to avoid, so everybody contributes to generating attack and everybody contributes on the defense, so I feel really excited about that."
Hear the full postgame interview here.

UNSUNG HERO
Senior Loes Stijntjes is the fire behind the unit, playing every second full-out. Her presence, while not showing up on the stat sheet, make her someone that her teammates can count on in any situation.

TWEET OF THE GAME

Superman or Kuskavitch? Melanie Kuskavitch makes a diving hit to put it in for the Dukes! JMU takes a 2-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/Z5UOoQfP7z
— JMU Field Hockey (@JMU_FieldHockey) October 11, 2015

CAREER NUMBERS

Sophomore Melanie Kusakavitch scored a career-high two goals against the Huskies that resulted in a career-high four points as well.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sara Kraeutler tied her career high with nine saves on the afternoon, allowing in just one goal.
Redshirt senior Taylor West scored her 50th career goal on Sunday, taking over sole possession of sixth place on the JMU career goal chart. Fifth place is currently held by Liz Sanders (JMU '00) at 51.
West is now just four points from surpassing Sanders in fifth place on the JMU career points chart as well. West has tallied 118 points for the Dukes while Sanders notched 121 points during her career.

Hear from Wilken and Kusakavitch with a postgame interview here.

PHOTO OF THE GAME
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Sophomore Melanie Kusakavitch celebrates a goal with redshirt senior Taylor West.
See the full photo gallery here.

NEXT UP
The Dukes welcome Davidson to Harrisonburg for a home non-conference match on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. for the third game in five days for JMU.