US Lacrosse Magazine released the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Preseason Top 20 on Jan. 2. Team-by-team previews will be unveiled on uslaxmagazine.com through the end of the month and will also appear as part of the magazine’s NCAA preview edition in February. 

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No. 6 James Madison

2018 Record: 22-1 (6-0 CAA)
Coach: Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe (13^th year)

All-Time Record: 451-301-3
NCAA Appearances: 15
Final Fours: 2
Championships: 1

There’s a lot new at JMU, beginning with learning how to follow up a national championship season.

“I think it’s going to be really important that we stay grounded and stay true to what has gotten us to this point,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “If we start to focus on the hype and what people think about us, we’re going to lose who we are all together. I think it’s just a very challenging year for our program. What I’m learning is this is the case for any program that’s won a national championship.”

The Dukes graduated their midfield and much of their attack. Five of their top six scorers that accounted for almost 64 percent of their scoring are gone, and in addition to their scoring went their experience and leadership. Many of the graduates were four-year contributors.

“What we’re working on or chipping away at is figuring out who are our problem solvers, our field generals,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “Who are the people that will be thinking for our team? We did identify four captains for our team this fall, and that’s a big step in finding our identity – who is going to lead us.”

Hannah Haven and Caroline Sdanowich were named captains over the summer and a pair of juniors, Kelsey Reed and Maddie McDaniel, were added in the fall.

Sophomores Molly Dougherty and Charlotte Haggerty enjoyed a banner fall. Dougherty, the starting goalie, and Haggerty, a midfielder, were so impressive in JMU’s exhibition against the U.S. team that coach Jenny Levy added them to the player pool for the IWLCA Presidents Cup in November.

Sorting out the contributors on the field may take longer.

“Our style will be very similar, but we’ll have different personnel,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “This time last year everything was pretty solidified. They knew who they were. Now things are more up in the air.  We have a deeper roster, but we still have to make decisions on who that personnel is going to be.”

The Dukes have their defense largely back, but are looking for players to show reliability in the preseason and early regular season. Whoever emerges will come from a culture that aims to retain the grit, work ethic and toughness that helped win a national title.

“Your athletes have tasted it and they want it again,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “Sometimes they don’t realize they have to be patient to get to that point. They’re all looking for that feeling we had as a unit leaving that field. That was an unbelievable feeling of unity and control. We felt like we were in control of some very intense scenarios. This team I have this year is searching for that feeling of unity and control.”

The Case For James Madison

Haven is the clear top returning scorer, and the Dukes are developing multiple threats at the offensive end to make them harder to guard. They’ll be unselfish and utilize a new crop of midfielders hungry to contribute.

“Whereas we’re younger in the midfield, we’re deeper there,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “We have identified probably two lines going into the spring. We didn’t have that last year.”

At the defensive end, a defense with three starters back and two proven goaltenders will keep them in every game. And there’s no substitute for knowing just what it took to win a national crown.

The Case Against James Madison

The Dukes may have too much to replace and be putting too much on some of their returning players. McDaniel will play a huge role in the success of the draw, and Haven has a lot on her shoulders on attack.

“Under pressure can our girls choose to make decisions for the team as they are growing their own individual roles?” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “Can they play unselfishly and making good decisions?”

JMU has been leaning on the same solid core the last couple of years and doesn’t truly know how its new leadership will respond under the pressure of being defending champions.

Path to the Playoffs

Last season began promisingly with an overtime win over North Carolina. JMU will have another difficult non-conference schedule beginning with UNC, then taking on NCAA teams from a year ago Virginia Tech, High Point, Penn State, Virginia and Maryland.

The schedule should help the Dukes find themselves before they get into the CAA. JMU hosts their toughest test in the CAA when Towson visits on Apr. 7. Towson presents the biggest challenge to a third straight CAA tournament title as well. The NCAA tournament follows and the Dukes will try to become the third program in 10 years to repeat.

Players To Watch

Hanna Haven, A, Sr.
47 G, 32 A

Haven leads an attack that features an entirely new group around her. She’s the lone returner of the top six scorers from a year ago. She’s been gearing up for the change and jumped into her new responsibility this fall. She brings much-needed experience and aggressiveness to the offense.

Maddie McDaniel, A, Jr.
28 Pts, 23 DC

McDaniel’s tying goal in the second half helped JMU overtake Boston College for the national title. She’ll take on an even bigger role this year by filling a huge void on the draw. She started fall ball promisingly by winning four against the U.S. women’s national team.

Caroline Sdanowich, D, Sr.
36 GB, 32 CT

Sdanowich comes back as a top defender after starting the last two seasons for the Dukes. She’s been able to cause more turnovers each season and blossomed into a second-team All-CAA pick last year. A team captain, Sdanowich also will handle a bigger leadership role in her final season.

National Rankings

Category	Rank	Value
Offense	11th	15.74 GPG
Defense	6th	9.26 GAA
Draws	33rd	14.35/game
Ground Balls	46th	18.96/game
Caused TO	14th	10.87/game
Shooting	2nd	49.9%
FP Shooting	36th	44.5%
Yellow Cards	7th	45

Power Ratings (Scale of 1-5)

Offense
⭐⭐⭐

Defense
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goalkeeping
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Draw
⭐⭐⭐

8

While the Dukes graduated important players, they also return eight of the 15 players to see action in last year’s national championship game. The returning players have bigger roles, and they provide a good starting point for a program that wants to prove that JMU can remain at that level.

5-Year Trend
Draw Controls

Year	Rank	Per Game
2014	27th	232
2015	24th	241
2016	13th	251
2017	23rd	267
2018	6th	330

Coach Confidential
Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe

"We’ve always been the gritty, fiery team that never gives up. What we’ve shown the last couple years is we’re also great lacrosse athletes and we have the skill required to perform at the highest level. So how do our decisions and stickwork help support our attitude and our effort?"

Enemy Lines

"A lot of people have said they won’t be the same, they graduated so much. If the fall scrimmage against the U.S. team is any indicator, JMU will be another competitive team again this year. They have the benefit of coming off winning a national championship. Coach Bawcombe knows how to pump players up, she knows how to draw on successes and motivate. I think they have some serious motivation just coming off that year, knowing they did that, and can do it again. They’re going to have a mental edge and they’ll continue to be competitive."

"They did graduate a lot. From what I hear their game against the U.S. team was really impressive. They work really hard on the field and they have a tough defense."