NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – James Madison’s lacrosse staff has been selected as the 2023 IWLCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year, the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association announced Wednesday.
The Dukes, led by 17th-year Head Coach Shelley Klaes, advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the 11th time in program history this spring after turning in a 19-3 overall record for their second-most wins in a single season.
Joining Klaes in this honor were Associate Head Coach Kateri Linville, Assistant Coach Colleen Shearer and Volunteer Assistant Matt Snyder.
Competing in its first season as a member of the American Athletic Conference, JMU won the league’s regular-season title after going 6-0 in conference play while outscoring foes 94-33. It would go on to finish as runner-up in the AAC Championship in Philadelphia after running up a program-record 17-game win streak during the year, thus earning a No. 7 overall seed for the NCAA Championship.
Of JMU’s 19 victories, eight came against opponents ranked in the final ILWomen/IWLCA poll, including a pair of victories over Maryland for the first time ever in a single season. The sixth-ranked Dukes finished top 10 nationally in three statistical areas – third in scoring defense (7.86), tied for third in free-position percentage (.541) and ninth in clearing percentage (.918).
Individually, Isabella Peterson became the program’s third finalist for the Tewaaraton Award after setting JMU single-season records with 91 goals and 114 points. She, along with Mairead Durkin were Consensus First Team All-Americans, while Rachel Matey and Tai Jankowski also picked up All-America honors.
— JMU Athletics —
