For the first time in a decade, the Jacksonville University women’s lacrosse team was playing the role of the hunter instead of the hunted.
The Dolphins failed to win the ASUN regular season title for the first time since 2017, by the margin of a 14-13 loss to Delaware on March 26. As a result, they were the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, while the Blue Hens, in their first season in the conference, cruised into JU’s Rock Stadium with a 7-0 ASUN record and the top seed.
“All the pressure was on Delaware,” said JU junior attack Maeve Brennan.
And the Dolphins rose to the occasion on May 2. Brennan scored a career-high six goals and the defense held Ella Rishko of Delaware, the ASUN’s Offensive Player of the Year, out of the net for the first 56:57 of the game as JU won 16-11 to clinch the program’s 10th ASUN Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Jacksonville (13-5) never trailed, and the game was last tied at 2-2. Sophomore attack Shae Hagans scored the next two goals, on a free-position shot and unassisted to close out the first quarter, junior midfield Julia Nicholson scored her second goal of the game off a Brennan feed, and Brennan added her first goal to give the Dolphins a 6-2 lead.
After UD (13-5) cut the lead to 6-4 and 7-5, Brennan’s goal off a Hagans assist gave JU an 8-5 halftime lead. Brennan scored the first goal of the third quarter from a free position and senior attack Ainsley Scruggs scored twice to cap a 4-0 run. The Dolphins never led by less than four goals after that.
Jacksonville will discover its NCAA opponent and destination on May 3 during the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse selection show at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
JU defense focused on ‘that 8 meters’
Rishko finally got a goal with 3:06 left to finish off a 3-0 run for the Hens and shave the margin to 15-11, but Brennan added her final score with 61 seconds left and JU ran out the clock. Rishko’s teammate Maggie Porter did the most damage with three goals.
Dolphins coach Tara Singleton said the team didn’t concentrate on Rishko but packed the free-position area and defended every blade of grass regardless of who was taking the shots.
“We talk about personnel, for sure, but we put more trust in our system, our group and our people,” she said. “That’s where we keep the focus. We keyed on defending that 8 meters and doing it together.”
Brennan, who has tied Rishko for the ASUN lead with 53 goals this season, was the tournament Most Valuable Player with nine goals and two assists in two games. Also on the All-Tournament team were senior defender Maggie Cuddy and senior goalkeeper Brookelynn Hodgin.
Cuddy won seven draw controls and Hodgin had six saves.
“Our defense was lights out,” Brennan said.
Dolphins came together after loss at Delaware
Since falling to the Blue Hens in Newark, Del., JU is a combined 7-0 in the regular season and conference tournament, outscoring opponents by an average of 18-6.
If lessons can be learned in defeat, the Dolphins had straight As over the final six weeks of the season.
“You win, or you learn,” Cuddy said. “We learned where we needed to adjust, what we needed to tune up and it was still early in the season. You have to peak in May. That’s what we’re doing right now. I think the best is coming.”
Hodgin said the rare regular-season ASUN loss, which ended a 20-game streak that dated back to April 1, 2023, motivated the Dolphins for the rest of the season.
“We weren’t satisfied with how our record went in the [regular] season, but at the end of the day, the postseason matters the most,” she said. “All we worried about was the next game, the next game, the next game. It was making the most of every single moment ahead of us. It wasn’t revenge but working for each other.”
Singleton said once the conference tournament began, records and seeds were cast from the team’s collective mind.
“No matter what seed we came in, we were up to the challenge,” she said. “It feels sweet, no matter what.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville avenges regular-season loss to win ASUN women’s lacrosse title
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
