Outside of conference tournaments, the most exciting game of the weekend takes place in Towson, Md., as No. 4 James Madison competes against the No. 10 Tigers in a CAA rivalry matchup with the regular season conference title on the line.
Both teams enter with an undefeated 5-0 CAA record, but the winner Saturday will claim the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament.
Of note, six of their last 22 meetings were in the CAA tournament with five of the last six in the title game. Towson won three of those five crowns, while combined, the Dukes and Tigers have won each of the last 10 championships – Towson with six and JMU with four.
NO. 4 JAMES MADISON AT NO. 10 TOWSON
WHEN: Saturday, April 28, 2 p.m.
WATCH: Lax Sports Network
Senior attacker Kristen Gaudian and senior midfielder Haley Warden, the team’s first to reach the Top 25 for the Tewaaraton Award since 2013, lead James Madison. Gaudian has tallied 68 points to take charge on the offense and Warden has 71 draw controls.
Towson boasts one Tewaaraton Top 25 nominee in sophomore defender Olivia Conti, its first player to earn the nod since 2012. She has a team-high 44 caused turnovers. Offensively, Natalie Sulmonte headlines with 52 points, adding a team-best 68 draw controls, while Emily Gillingham and Carly Tellekamp have 40 goals apiece.
The Dukes are having one of their hottest seasons yet, suffering just one loss at the hands of Maryland by three goals, and Towson only has two blemishes on the year, falling to Loyola early in triple overtime and later undefeated No. 1 Stony Brook.
As history likes to repeat itself, this showdown will be one fans won’t want to miss. It pits the No. 2 (Towson) and No. 4 (James Madison) scoring defenses against each other, as well as the No. 10 (Dukes) and No. 23 (Tigers) scoring offenses.