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STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The underdogs did it.

The culmination of more than 10 years for Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe as head coach –and more than 50 years for generations of Dukes since its first year as a program – saw No. 3 seed James Madison surge past fourth-seeded Boston College 16-15 in a wild finish for its first-ever NCAA title.

“I hope it’s not a culmination,” said Klaes-Bawcombe, a 1997 JMU graduate. “I hope there’s many more to come, but it is a great deal of work over many years by many people. I am not alone in this process. Many people have chipped away at this for a very long time. We’re 50 years strong. Half my life, I’ve been a collegiate coach now, and I’ve made some big decisions to stay at James Madison when I’ve had opportunities to move on to do just this. It really is tremendous satisfaction. I can’t wait for it to soak in.”

The turning point for the Dukes came just five minutes into the second half.

Senior defender Corinne Schmidt of Brightwaters, New York, which is 30 minutes southwest of Stony Brook’s Kenneth P. Lavalle Stadium, was handed her second yellow card, sidelining her for the remainder of the game.

Klaes-Bawcombe met her at the 50-yard line as Schmidt took her seat to serve her two-minute penalty.

Then, the Dukes defense made a momentum-changing stop.

As possession changed, Klaes-Bawcombe pointed directly to Schmidt in elation, and two minutes later, James Madison sophomore attacker Maddie McDaniel scored the game-tying goal.

“That was really tough on her as an individual to get red-carded out of her senior game on Long Island, being from Long Island,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “It would’ve been really easy for her to fall into herself and be all upset and be a distraction on the sideline, but instead, we talked about character shows in times of struggle.

“She needed to step up and be there and show that she had strength, so that the team could have strength,” she continued. “In that moment in the game, things changed for JMU. That’s when we took our run and that’s when we took charge of the game.”

Seniors Elena Romesburg and Kristen Gaudian, the latter being the team’s Tewaaraton finalist, scored back-to-back goals over the next eight minutes to close out their four-goal spurt and take a lead that never disappeared.

The final 11 minutes saw the score come within one four times, but the eventual game-winner from the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, senior midfielder Haley Warden, who had a team-high four goals, sealed the deal thanks to Warden’s final draw control with 22 seconds left on the clock.

“It was a sigh of relief when we won that draw,” Warden said.

As Klaes-Bawcombe reiterated, the NCAA title victory was a team win.

Coming from a program that was ranked 17th during the preseason and hailed from a mid-major conference, the Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA) – in which JMU won back-to-back crowns – the Dukes wore their hearts on their sleeves, never ceasing to display their school pride.

“We are JMU. We’re not ashamed of that,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “When we walk out on that field, we’re proud of our work.”

It meant individual sacrifices had to be made. As much as Dukes senior attacker Katie Kerrigan wanted to score, she became a feeder first, tallying a team-high four assists.

It took believing in oneself “to get a foot in the door,” as JMU redshirt freshman goalie Molly Dougherty described her path to the starting role – and then made 16 saves in the final four.

It also meant embracing the underdog mentality since day one when doubters emerged, thinking the Dukes couldn’t get past its tournament-opening game against Virginia in the second round.

“That mentality was something I learned at James Madison and it’s something I want to give back to my athletes – and it works,” said JMU’s 12th-year head coach, who earned the position in her second attempt after first applying in 2001 and then serving five years as Hofstra’s head coach. “It’s just about embracing your situation and giving yourself the best possible solution for your path in life. … I really do feel that it gives us that competitive edge.”

Once the Dukes bought in, it was a battle for the dogs – and that’s when “really amazing things happen,” Klaes-Bawcombe said.

“That’s the national championship you want to have,” Dougherty said. “You want a dog fight.”

Call the Dukes underdogs no more. The national champion rightfully earned its way to the top of Division I women’s lacrosse. 

“No one expected us to win this game today,” Warden said. “Going into this game, I’d say, yeah, we were the underdogs, but right now, our hard work this whole entire season has really paid off. I’m happy we embraced that mentality.”

Welcome to the elite, James Madison.