#19 JMU Battles for 3-2 Victory over #13 Liberty

Friday, August 26

Harrisonburg, Va.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

(1-0)

Liberty

(0-1)

Liberty

JMU

8/26/2016 9:24:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery Highlights @JMU_FieldHockey FH on Facebook 2016 Roster FH on Instagram

HARRISONBURG, Va. – A penalty stroke from junior forward Hannah Hall was the difference in a 3-2 comeback victory for No. 19 James Madison field hockey over No. 13 Liberty in the teams' season opener.

Hall stepped up for the shot in the 62^nd minute of play and fired the ball by the Lady Flames' goalkeeper lift the Dukes to a 3-2 lead. Liberty immediately went on attack, but a corner shot that would have knotted the game at 3-all was waived off in the 65^th minute. The JMU defense settled in to fend off two corner attempts in the final 1:35 and waited out the final seconds on the clock.

The game-tying goal came from freshman Lisa Lejeune following a penalty corner at the 50:52 mark of play. After taking the corner pass, she dribbled around the top of the circle and fired into a swarm of jerseys as the ball veered into the cage.

Junior goalkeeper Sara Kraeutler posted four saves on the night for the defense, aided by a defensive save by Hall in the final minute of play. The JMU offense peppered Liberty goalie Allison Schaefer with 10 shots on goal, of which she saved seven from finding the cage.

JMU has a brief break before continuing the opening home stand Tuesday night against Longwood at 6:30 p.m.

QUOTE FROM THE DAY
"We are a complete team, and there's no one star on our team. Everybody has personal responsibilities and, today, everyone took that personal responsibility." - Christy Morgan

PHOTO OF THE DAY
Hannah Hall lifts the game-winning goal off a penalty stroke - see the full gallery here.

FIRST OF THE YEAR
JMU's first goal of the year came just 19 seconds into the season when junior forward Melanie Kusakavitch made the steal in the attacking zone and dumped it off to sophomore forward Melissa Wilken, who dribbled into the left side and fired towards the right corner.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Love you guys so much???? @JMU_FieldHockey @JMUSports pic.twitter.com/40uAlsvEDv
— LindsayGippe (@Lmgippe123) August 27, 2016

RANKED FOES
This is the second win for JMU over a top-15 opponent in the last 10 months. The Dukes defeated Delaware 2-1 in overtime on Oct. 24, 2015.

Big shout out to @JMU_FieldHockey for their win tonight. #GoDukes
— JMU Women's Tennis (@JMUWTennis) August 27, 2016

HOME OPENERS

The last two home-opening victories for the Dukes have come against ranked opponents. In 2015, JMU defeated No. 17 Iowa 4-1.
Head coach Christy Morgan is 9-2 all-time in home openers.
The Dukes are 4-1 in their last five home openers. They have only opened the season at home twice in the last five years (both were wins).

UP NEXT
The Dukes face the Lancers of Longwood on Tuesday, Aug. 30, at home in a 6:30 p.m. contest. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a 2016 JMU Field Hockey schedule cup! For those unable to make the game, it will be a video broadcast on MadiZONE HD SportsNet, presented by the JMU Alumni Association.