TOWSON, Md. – James Madison University scored four of the final five goals in the game to secure an 11-9 win over the No. 18 Towson University women's lacrosse in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers and Dukes finish in a tie for the CAA regular season title, for the fourth time since the Tigers joined the CAA.

THE BASICS
James Madison 11, No. 18 Towson 9
Johnny Unitas® Stadium, Towson, Md.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Towson (12-3, 5-1 CAA) opened the game with the hot hand, scoring three of the first four goals of the game. Redshirt junior attacker Alyssa Ferro scored a pair of goals while sophomore midfielder Emily Gillingham had a goal and an assist which gave the home team a 3-1 lead with 23:21 to play in the half.
• James Madison (9-8, 5-1 CAA) responded with a 3-0 run of its own and took a 4-3 lead with 16:55 showing on the clock. Kristen Gaudian had a pair of goals for the Dukes during that stretch.
• Goals from sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Montalbano and redshirt junior midfielder Michelle Gildea gave the Tigers a 5-4 edge with 15:30 left in the stanza.
• James Madison scored three of the final four goals in the first half and took a 7-6 lead at the break. Jaci Gordon scored a pair of goals during that stretch while Ferro completed her hat trick for the Tigers.
• Towson opened the second half with back-to-back goals from freshman midfielder Natalie Sulmonte and junior midfielder Samantha Brookhart and took an 8-7 lead with 23:21 to play in the game.
• James Madison scored three straight goals and took a 10-8 lead with 10:05 to play.
• The Tigers pulled to within one, 10-9 on a free position goal from Montalbano with 9:45 left on the clock.
• The Dukes added an insurance goal from Gordon with 5:14 to play and secured the 11-9 win.

QUOTABLE

• "This was a disappointing loss for us against a good James Madison team," said Towson head coach Sonia LaMonica. "We made too many errors and at critical times. We didn't capitalize on our opportunities. We did okay on the draw and got some good defensive stops at times."

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• With the loss to the Dukes, the Tigers will be the number two seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament which will be held May 6-8 at Drexel.
• Ellie Harmeyer made four saves to earn the win in goal for the Dukes. Freshman Angie Benson made five saves in the loss for the Tigers.
• Towson surrendered 10 or more goals for just the second time this season (Florida and James Madison).
• Ferro led Towson with three goals. It was her first hat trick of the season and second of her career.
• Brookhart had a goal and two assists for the Tigers while Montalbano had two goals. Sulmonte finished with a goal and an assist while tying her career-high with six draw controls.
• Gordon led the Dukes with three goals and two ground balls.
• James Madison outshot the Tigers 19-16 while the Tigers held a 14-8 edge in the draw controls.

Towson wraps up the regular season on Sunday, May 1 when it hosts Connecticut at 12 p.m. The Tigers will honor their seniors prior to the start of that contest.