HARRISONBURG, Va. – Junior forward Edel Nyland continued her torrid start to the 2016 season, but James Madison's Hannah Hall matched her and led the 19th-ranked Dukes past Longwood field hockey, 6-2, Tuesday night at the JMU Field Hockey Complex.
 
Hall, a two-time All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) performer, contributed on James Madison's first four goals, scoring the opening two goals of the contest, before assisting on the following pair to finish the evening with six points.
 
The performance from Hall and the Dukes (2-0) put an end to Longwood's two-game win streak, as the Lancers (2-1) played the third contest of a five-game stretch in 10 days.
 
"The final score doesn't reflect how hard we played, as there are a lot of good things to take away from today's game," said Longwood head coach Iain Byers. "JMU was able to take advantage when they had opportunities, but we were able to play quality hockey."
 
Two days after becoming the program's first four-goal scorer in the Division I era, Nyland notched a goal and an assist to run her season point total to a team-leading 11 on the year. With five goals in the opening three games of the season, the Tipperary, Ireland, product sits within one goal of matching her personal best of six goals in a campaign.

Longwood goalkeeper Lauren Bernard (2-1) took the loss, making two saves on eight JMU shots on goal. Meanwhile, Sara Kraeutler (2-0) picked up the win for the Dukes after facing just three Longwood shots on goal.

Longwood senior captain Ellen Ross was a rock in the midfield for the Lancers, playing all 70 minutes while helping the Lancers close the gap from last season's 8-1 loss to James Madison. Ross, who has led the team in minutes played in each of the past two seasons, helped hold the Dukes to just one goal after halftime.

The Lancers continue their grueling season-opening stretch of five games in 10 days when they head to Pennsylvania for a pair of games this Friday and Sunday. The Lancers will face Villanova in the first game of that trip Friday, Sept. 2 with a noon start time, followed by Sunday showdown at Lafayette.
 
"The team is disappointed in the loss, but we can see the improvement that we're making and we'll continue to work to get better," Byers said. 

#GoWood