Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. - Behind a strong offensive performance, No. 7 James Madison upended the University of Delaware field hockey team, 5-0, to open up Colonial Athletic Association play at a soggy Rullo Stadium on Friday night.

Ashley Walls led the way for the Dukes (7-1), scoring two goals and posting an assist. Her sisters also did well as Lauren posted one of the team’s other three goals, while Melissa recorded an assist.

Rachel Schexnayder (at right) was the only Blue Hen to record two shots, as the tough Duke defense limited Delaware (1-7) to just six during the game.

In the beginning of the first half, Delaware held tough against its formidable opponent. The Hens kept James Madison scoreless through the first 19 minutes of action as goalie Nikki Rhoades posted two saves while the defense stopped another shot attempt to keep the Dukes off the board.

Eventually, the James Madison attack finally found the back of the cage as Ashley Walls took a pass from her sister, Melissa, and deflected it past Rhoades to put JMU up, 1-0. Less than three minutes later, the Dukes struck again as Melissa Stefaniak deposited a pass from Amy Daniel in the goal.

Thirteen minutes later, right before halftime, James Madison earned a penalty corner with the clock stopped on all zeroes. With one final play, Stefaniak and Ashley Walls used two perfect passes to set up Lauren Walls for her fifth goal of the season.

Trailing by three, Delaware substituted goalies early in the second half, brining in Noelle Diana off the bench. Although the freshman looked strong, posting two saves in the span of three minutes, the James Madison attack simply proved to be too much to handle.

At 56:42 in the second half, Randi Segear upped the Dukes lead to four after notching her first goal of the season on a high-arcing shot over Diana. Less than a minute later, Ashley Walls came back for more, scoring her second goal of the contest with just over 12 minutes remaining in regulation.

After that point, the Hens tried to post a response, notching four shots and two penalty corners in the waning moments of play. All of their attempts failed, however, as James Madison’s Lauren Cutchins and Kristen O’Rourke combined for the shutout.

During the contest, the Dukes out-shot the Hens by a 21-6 margin, while they held a 10-2 advantage in penalty corners.

Delaware will return to action on Sunday when the team hosts Virginia Commonwealth at 1 p.m.