How quickly things change in the CAA.

For the past four years, the James Madison Dukes have dominated William and Mary, winning five-straight games against their chief rivals while remaining a perennial force atop the FCS rankings.

No more. The College’s dominating 24-3 win Saturday proved that, for this season at least, the Tribe is unquestionably the team to beat in this bitter rivalry.

The victory improved the College to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in conference, good for third place in the cutthroat CAA South. The Dukes dropped to a dismal 2-5, 0-4 — that’s dead last.

Scenes from the game were as striking as the two program’s disparate records.

There was sophomore tailback Jonathan Grimes running wild through the Dukes’s vaunted defensive line, notching 158 yards on just 20 carries. There was junior punter David Miller bombing punts well over JMU’s all-world return man, Scotty McGee.

There was senior defensive end Adrian Tracy harassing JMU quarterback Justin Thorpe all afternoon, collecting 1.5 sacks and eight tackles.

And then there was Mickey Matthews, the normally caustic JMU coach, heaping praise on his counterpart Jimmye Laycock’s squad.

“This is, by far, the best team he’s ever had since I’ve been in the league,” Matthews said. “This is the best quarterback he’s had. He’s the best quarterback we’ve played this year.”

While the veracity of that second statement is questionable — senior R.J. Archer has been excellent this season, but several of his predecessors were quite distinguished as well — the former might very well be true.

Laycock downplayed the comments in his typical form.

“I don’t know; [Matthews] is much smarter than I am,” he deadpanned.

But a close look at the Tribe, just past the midway point of its season, reveals a formidable team — one that is built for the postseason.

After seven games, the College is ranked first in the CAA in both total offense and total defense. They have the conference’s top rusher, sophomore Jonathan Grimes, who also leads the league in total yardage. Senior defensive end Adrian Tracy leads the conference in sacks, while junior David Miller is its top punter.

A strong rushing attack, a ferocious defense and the ability to pin opponents deep when your offense fails sounds just like the formula Richmond used last year on its way to a national championship.

The College is a long, long way away from thinking about the title game in Chattanooga, Tenn., but the Tribe has proven over its last several games that it is as good as anyone else in the nation.

Just as importantly, the squad improved significantly this week in several of the areas in which it has struggled this season.

Through six games, the College had committed 40 penalties for 368 yards, one of the worst marks in the conference. Against the Dukes, they had only two for 20 yards.

Similarly, they had struggled in the red zone, managing points on 81 percent of their opportunities, but only scoring touchdowns on 48 percent of those chances. On Saturday, they wasted little, notching three touchdowns on four red-zone trips, with Laycock inserting some excellent play calls to great effect.
If the Tribe can match those efforts in the weeks to come, there is no better team in the FCS.

The schedule now turns easy for the next couple of weeks. The College travels to New England to face 1-6 Rhode Island this Saturday, followed by a visit from the 2-5 Towson Tigers.

Take care of business in those two games, and the Tribe will be 8-1 entering its final stretch against no. 8 New Hampshire and no. 1 Richmond.

Eight wins should be enough to clinch a postseason bid coming out of the CAA South, and that would allow the Tribe to play those last contests for postseason seeding and a potential home playoff advantage.

But after a heartbreaking loss to Richmond last year that kept the Tribe out of the postseason, don’t expect the College to let up for even a second.

Like this week, the Tribe will have unfinished business to attend to.

After 81 minutes of scoreless soccer, Nat Baako did the improbable. Three years after stepping on campus, the star junior center midfielder scored his first goal at Albert-Daly Field, a feat he had yet to accomplish. Baako’s first collegiate goal at home handed William and Mary (10-4-1, CAA 5-2-1) a 1-0 victory over Hofstra (7-6-1, CAA 5-2-1) Saturday night.

“I have been waiting for that for three years,” Baako said. “It felt great, especially in a game that we needed to win to make sure our season stayed on track. The ball went out to Price [Thomas], and I actually yelled at him to play it low. So when I saw him loop it over to [Hofstra’s goalkeeper], I was hoping he would drop it. Which he did, and I was like, ‘Alright, thank you!’”

Baako blasted the loose ball into the empty net for his first goal of the year in a game the College out-shot, out-possessed and out-chanced the then CAA-leading Pride. Thomas’ cross came from the end line and should have been easily secured by Pride keeper Greg Cumpstone.

For most of the match, the College was able to penetrate into the attacking third, but had not been able to capitalize on opportunities.

“I felt like if we were patient and we could break their pressure, that we would get some chances,” Head Coach Chris Norris said. “But I always worried about them. They are a very good counter-attacking team, and they had some individuals that could make some plays; and if we didn’t get the first goal, it would be a struggle.”

An early goal nearly came in the 36th minute when junior forward Ryan Snyder had a golden opportunity to put the College ahead. Snyder headed a cross on goal that Cumpstone swatted right back to a waiting Snyder. He then directed a low ball toward the corner of the net, which appeared to cross the line before being cleared by a Hofstra defender. No goal was signaled in spite of momentary celebration by Tribe players surrounding the goal.

The College remained undaunted and continued to outwork the Pride, with 12 first half shots and relentless pressure throughout the night.

“We really picked it up and did the small things right tonight, and I think sometimes that has to be the difference,” senior left back Roger Bothe said. “Lately we have been struggling a bit, but it was nice to see our effort make the difference. We are a team that does like to play pretty, but sometimes you have to get those ugly wins, and tonight was one of them.”

Ugly or not, the win moves the Tribe into third place in the CAA with three games remaining in the regular season.

“As far as playing how we are supposed to, I don’t think it was our best game of the season,” Baako said. “I think we still have a lot of work to do. We needed to win this game no matter what. So in the end, we did what we had to do.”

The Tribe travels to Atlanta, Ga. Wednesday to take on Georgia State.

With 10 minutes remaining in William and Mary’s Sunday contest against Towson, the Tribe was nursing a 1-0 lead and searching for a goal to ice the game. The search ended when junior midfielder Brittany Lane, who buried an 81st minute ball into the back of the net off a cross from freshman midfielder Cortlyn Bristol. The goal doubled the Tribe’s (11-7, 5-5) advantage and clinched a key late-season victory for the squad.

“It was our senior night and we’d been losing and I just wanted to get it done,” Bristol said. “I was aiming for [junior midfielder Danielle Axenfeld]. Unfortunately she got pushed to the ground, but at least someone got it.”

With the victory over the Tigers, the Tribe rises to fifth place in the CAA with 15 total points. To make the conference tournament, the Tribe will need to beat Old Dominion Saturday and hope for losses from both George Mason and James Madison.

“We’ll just go out and play the best we can, try to win it, and let the chips fall where they may,” Head Coach John Daly said.

Bristol also scored the Tribe’s first goal of the match in the 49th minute, beating two Towson defenders with a spin move to the left of the box before ripping a shot off just inside the right post. The College will need more performances like Bristol’s to make the tournament.

“All I could think about was ‘Get one in, at least one, just to calm it down,’” Bristol said. “It’s really good because we’ve had some rough games, but we still have a chance.”

Bristol entered the match after an injury to freshman midfielder Katrina Smedley in the 35th minute. Smedley, who is tied for second on the team in assists (4) this season, landed awkwardly on her left leg while attempting a tackle and fell to the pitch clutching her left knee.

Smedley, who had suffered a left knee injury prior to attending the College, is doubtful that she will play Saturday.

The Tribe held a 1-0 lead into the 81st minute, despite allowing Towson a couple of dangerous attacks in the second half. A mix-up on the back line left Towson forward Cheyenne Skidmore one-on-one with junior keeper Grace Barnard. Barnard had to make a sprawling save to maintain the clean sheet.

The Tigers also got off a shot in the 61st minute, which banged off the left post and rolled in front of the goalmouth. Barnard was there once again to maintain the shutout.

“It was kind of the same-old, same-old in the sense that we out-played George Mason [Friday night] and gave up silly goals,” Daly said. “We gave up some chances today, but Grace made a great save.”

Volleyball: Tribe loses 3-2 to Hofstra, moves into tie for second

The College took Hofstra to five sets Saturday before losing to the Pride 3-2. With its record now 6-2, the Tribe moves into a tie for second place in the CAA with VCU, behind Delaware. Senior hitter Lauren Powell recorded her team-leading ninth double-double of the season, tallying 12 kills and 19 blocks. Junior setter Cassie Crumal also had a double-double for the match, as she had 16 digs to go along with her 25 assists. Check out Flathatnews.com/sports for a full recap.

Field Hockey: Zamesnik scores two in weekend win over VCU

Sophomore midfielder Leah Zamesnik netted two goals for the Tribe Sunday in a 3-2 victory over VCU. Zamesnik’s second goal came in the 59th minute, breaking a 2-2 tie and helping seal away the victory. Sophomore Mikala Savaides also had a goal for the Tribe, placing a feed from sophomore midfielder Kelsey Nawalinski into the back of the cage. Junior Carrie Thompson had four saves for the Tribe, who improved to 6-11 on the year, 2-5 in conference.

Tennis: Men reach semis, women quarters, at ITAs

Senior Keziel Juneau and junior Sebastien Vidal reached the semifinals of the ITA Atlantic Regionals Sunday before falling to the doubles team from U.Va. 8-4. A pair of women’s doubles teams advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITAs, as senior Carmen Pop and freshman Anik Cepeda lost 8-3 to the top-seeded Virginia squad, while senior Ragini Acharya and junior Lauren Sabacinski were defeated 8-5 by the third-seeded pair from Charlottesville.

Following a dominant 3-0 victory Friday over last year’s regular-season CAA champion Northeastern, William and Mary (14-8, CAA 6-2) hosted Hofstra (9-17, CAA 4-5) Saturday night.

Typically a strong first-set team — the squad had won six of the last eight first sets before Saturday — the Tribe allowed a sub-.500 Hofstra squad to claim a close first set 26-24 and hold on for a five-set, 3-2 victory.

“Our offense wasn’t clicking,” Head Coach Melissa Shelton said about the slow Tribe start, attributing the early deficit to “tentative mistakes.”

However, the College returned to form in the second set, quickly opening up a 14-5 margin. The Tribe never trailed in the set, cruising to a 25-16 win, tying the match at one apiece. Sophomore hitter Lindsay Kresch helped in the second set win by totaling seven kills. She finished with career-high 18 kills.

The Tribe was unable to carry over its second-set momentum, letting the Pride jump out to an early 11-4 lead in the third set. After tying the set at 15-15, the College failed to stave off the Hofstra attack, dropping the set 25-21.

With their backs to the wall, the College fell behind early in the fourth set, but strung together eight consecutive points to lead 12-7 behind service from junior blocker Ginny Bray, who had five kills and eight digs. After the Pride battled back to tie the score at 22-22, Shelton called timeout. Out of the break, the Tribe rolled off three consecutive points, including two kills from Kresch, to win the set 25-22 and tie the match 2-2.

In the final stanza, the underdog Pride stormed to a 10-5. The Tribe countered, with help from four Hofstra attack errors, and cut the lead to one at 14-13. A decisive back-and-forth point followed, but eventually the ball dropped on the College’s side, giving the set, and the match to Hofstra.

“This match is a reality check – we know that any team in the CAA can beat any other,” senior hitter Lauren Powell said.

Despite the loss, Powell notched her team-leading ninth double-double of the year recording 12 kills and 19 digs in addition to two aces. Junior setter Cassie Crumal and freshman setter Jordyn Moloney combined for 44 assists and senior libero Lindsey Pflugner tallied a match-high 24 digs.

The Tribe plays Towson and first-place Delaware this weekend and will return to action at the Kaplan Arena Friday Nov. 6 against George Mason.

With a no. 5 national ranking and a top-rated defense, William and Mary was determined to end its five-game losing streak to James Madison.

A sellout crowd on Homecoming at Zable Stadium was ready as well.

After a quiet first half, the Tribe quickly raced to a commanding three-possession lead, defeating JMU 24-3 to move its record to 6-1 and 3-1 in the CAA.

It was the College’s first win over the Dukes (2-5, 0-4 CAA) since a 2004 victory in Harrisonburg.

“I thought we played very hard today,” Head Coach Jimmye Laycock said. “I think we were a little rusty coming out of the [bye week] offensively, but defensively we were right on all day.”

Traditionally, the Dukes have beaten the College with their ground game, but the College defense held the Dukes to just 150 rushing yards Saturday. The Tribe also held an anemic JMU passing game to only 66 yards through the air.

“One of the keys going into this game was to not just stop, but eliminate the running game and make them one-dimensional,” senior defensive end Adrian Tracy said. “We thought we would have a pretty good chance to win if we could stop the run, and we did.”

Tracy wreaked havoc all day, supplying 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss. Tracy has been spectacular in the last four games, and he now leads the CAA with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

While the defense came out firing on all cylinders, the Tribe offense needed a few quarters to shake off the bye-week hangover. However, thanks to impressive performances from senior quarterback R.J. Archer and sophomore tailback Jonathan Grimes, it didn’t matter in the end.

While Archer looked out of sync at the beginning of the game due to several mental errors and an early interception, the quarterback regained his composure in the latter stages of the first half. Archer finished with 127 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Meanwhile, Grimes had an excellent day on the ground, rushing for a career high 158 yards, while junior Courtland Marriner pitched in with another 62.

With 4:41 remaining in the opening quarter, the Tribe offense showed its first signs of life. After receiving the handoff at the Tribe 31-yard line, Grimes blew through the JMU defense for a crucial 61-yard gain. The rush play was the longest allowed by the JMU defense this season, and Grimes’ longest run of the year.
After an incomplete pass, Archer rolled to the right and completed a beautiful play action pass to senior tight end Rob Varno to give the Tribe a 7-0 lead.

Six minutes later, JMU capped a methodical drive of its own with field goal by Dixon Wright. But the score would provide James Madison with its only points of the game.

Throughout the remainder of the first half, the two teams struggled to produce any meaningful offensive plays until senior kicker Brian Pate drilled a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the College a 10-3 advantage going into the half.

The field goal drive was made possible by two timely runs by Archer. After surveying the defense and the lack of open receivers, the quarterback used his legs to create some much needed offensive momentum.

“The scrambles that [Archer] made at the end of the first half that got us in field goal position were big-time plays,” Laycock said. “He can move around and do a lot of things. He’s a very gifted quarterback.”

After the break, the Tribe handed the ball over to Grimes and Marriner and began to pull away. The College scored two touchdowns in the second half, the first coming on an 18 yard completion from Archer to freshman tight end Alex Gottlieb. Grimes then sealed the win with a nine-yard scamper with 5:45 remaining in the game.

The win proved particularly meaningful for the Tribe seniors, who had never before beaten JMU.

“It was definitely a sweet one. It’s one of the best rivalries we have here, and it’s a team we have struggled with the past few years,” Archer said. “We just played our game, controlled the game up front, and that’s what it came down to.”

The Flat Hat is live in the Zable stadium press box with updates, analysis, news and more as the College takes on the James Madison in its 2009 Homecoming contest. Enter the blog below to keep track of the latest game action and submit your questions.