Lacrosse enters first AAC tournament preparing for different field conditions and familiar opponents

By ZACH MENDENHALL The Breeze

The AstroTurf field used by JMU field hockey is one of a kind on campus. It’s also where No. 6 JMU lacrosse has been preparing before heading to Philadelphia for the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Conference Championship versus Cincinnati (11-6, 3-3 AAC).

The Dukes (16-1, 6-0 AAC) enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed, while Cincinnati, which lost to JMU 17-8 April 16, is the No. 4 seed. Now, they play for the second time this season and all time Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

The playing surface in Philadelphia’s Howarth Field at Temple University is AstroTurf instead of grass, which JMU plays on at home at Sentara Park. Not only do balls roll quicker on AstroTurf, JMU head coach Shelley Klaes said, but balls bounce more, calling for adjustments in shooting and passing.

“I think as coaches, we’re trying to create an environment where there are no uncontrollables, and something like a surface being unfamiliar, we can’t let that get to us on game day,” Klaes said.

She said practicing on the AstroTurf gives JMU a lack of excuses and confidence that it’s preparing the way it needs to heading into the AAC tournament.

JMU was originally prepared to play East Carolina — still on the AstroTurf in Philadelphia, where the four qualified AAC teams are all playing — until seedings changed after Vanderbilt defeated Temple 12-11 in another conference matchup. The result of that game didn’t seem to matter though, as besides zone and man adjustments, nothing changes playing Cincinnati, redshirt senior defender Rachel Matey said.

For the Dukes, this is their first time in the AAC tournament, and they want to make an impact.

“You never know when is your last game, we’re only guaranteed one at the moment,” senior attacker Tai Jankowski said. “Right now, we’re just using all of our experience throughout this season and implementing it into this next game.”

Throughout the season, each JMU player has challenged one another and proven that every member of the team has a role, Jankowski said. With defense challenging the offense and vice versa, the team feels prepared and it’s made the team’s inaugural year in the AAC even more special, she said.

Coming into the game, JMU has nine players with at least 10 goals on the season, Jankowski said. She, second on the team with 48 goals to only redshirt junior attacker Isabella Peterson, who leads the team in goals for the third year in a row with 70.

The Bearcats roster has shown its depth this season too, with freshman attacker Camryn Callaghan proving to be a key addition with 55 goals and 12 assists in 17 games. Six players on Cincinnati have 10 goals or more and five players have 10 or more assists; JMU has four.

JMU departed from Harrisonburg at 6 a.m. Wednesday, but despite the time, it’s looking forward to another opportunity to “bond and connect,” Klaes said. Being on the road, JMU can’t get a break from one another. When forced to be around each other, it creates special moments where each player gets a piece of everyone’s special personalities, Klaes said.

With 10 seniors on the team, the chemistry this spring has been “unlike any other year” for Jankowski. Not only have the seniors had the opportunity to grow together but coming off last year and seeing each other accomplish their goals is part of what makes this team special, she said.

Klaes said players like Jankowski have also stepped up all year and acted as if they’re a captain, holding people accountable and calming them down in the right moments. Peterson’s “hunger” and consistent production of high numbers has also been able to “drive the process” all season, Klaes added.

But first, JMU has to beat Cincinnati. If it does, it’ll play the winner of the No. 2 versus 3-seed matchup, No. 8 Florida versus East Carolina, on Saturday at noon.

“This is kind of what you play for all season,” Matey said. “To get to these days, these games. We’ve gone all this way and we’ve done a great job all year and excited … to keep the train going.” CONTACT Zach Mendenhall at mendenzl@dukes.jmu.edu. For more lacrosse coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter at @TheBreezeSports.