3 minute read
backline to kickstart run at national title
By HAYDEN HUNDLEY The Breeze
Redshirt senior defender Mairead Durkin, with a wealth of defensive accolades, has amassed one of the most successful careers in JMU lacrosse history. Though she might not be the most verbose.
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“I’m trying to think,” Durkin said, stumbling over her words, “I’m not really great at interviews.”
Head coach Shelley Klaes deems the reserved Durkin the embodiment of the Dukes’ program, saying to USA Lacrosse Magazine, “she has the mentality that feeds JMU lacrosse.” Durkin headlines a new-look JMU defense, now without goalie Molly Dougherty (2017-22).
Durkin’s looking to build off setting the all-time school record for caused turnovers last season (52), as well as her 2022 CAA Defensive Player of the Year and USA Lacrosse Preseason ThirdTeam All-American nods.
“Mairead is such a huge driver of the competitive energy and swagger JMU has,” Klaes said, adding Durkin helps catalyze the program’s blue-collar and unintimidated nature.
Comparatively, Durkin’s partner in crime and teammate for the past five seasons, redshirt senior defender Rachel Matey, is dubbed JMU’s spirit and energy by Klaes.
It might be easy to lose sight of Matey in the midst of Durkin’s long list of achievements. But Matey, the 2022 Preseason Inside Lacrosse All-American, Matey is listed as a defender on the roster but accumulated 22 points her sophomore season along with 93 draw controls last year — fourth in the CAA, just three spots behind fellow teammate Isabella Peterson, who led the league with 102.
“Rachel is a difference-maker on this team,” Klaes said. “She’s all over the field.”
This is also Matey’s second consecutive season as a captain. Klaes said “she’s always reminding people what to do.” Matey’s motivation is “contagious” to her teammates, Klaes said. While she doesn’t have the towering 5-foot-10 build that Durkin, a former Gaelic football MVP and world champion, sports, that creates matchup nightmares for opposing coaches. Matey “lifts the presence of everyone else” with her on-the-field leadership, Klaes said.
“Every year when we do these interviews in the past, and we always boast about our team,” Matey said. “This year, our motto is, ‘Prove it.’”
With a decorated career, that only leaves one thing on the minds of the two fifth-year senior defensive anchors.
“National championship,” Durkin said bluntly.
It’s been five years since the Dukes hoisted the national championship trophy, just a year before Durkin and Matey arrived in Harrisonburg. It’s their last chance to do everything they can to end their legacy as national champions, and they won’t be alone in their efforts to defend the cage. Even though Klaes and teammates rave about Durkin and Matey, JMU’s defense isn’t front-loaded with talent.
The Dukes are also returning two-time captain Lizzy Fox; Carolyn Thistlewait, who started every game last season; Lizzy Pirisino, who started 18 games; and Nicholle Marshall, who appeared in 18 games last season.
“Carolyn Thistlewait is a mark-up defender, Lizzy Pirisino is the ‘terrier’ of our inside system in our zone,” Klaes said. “We have really fierce midfield defenders in Lizzy Fox and Taylor Marchetti. I also think Nicholle Marshall really breaks the play up for us, so they really give a huge amount of depth to our defense.”
Not too bad of a returning cast for a team that ranked 11th in scoring defense last season with 9.47 goals allowed/game. Thistlewait credited the Dukes’ depth to their younger players’ open-mindedness.
“That’s what we do really well in this program,” Thistlewait said, “having the freshman buy into what the upper-classmen are doing, having the upperclassmen help them out and making sure everyone is on the same page.”
While most of the group is returning, the Dukes will be playing without former All-American goalie Dougherty. Preparing to step into the cage is another fifth-year senior, Kat Buchanan.
While Buchanan doesn’t have years of first-team experience, Buchanan said she doesn’t plan on missing a beat filling in for Dougherty if she earns the starting job. Buchanan’s teammate of five years and roommate, Durkin, said she’s “been ready for this for five years.”
And for Matey, there isn’t much of a difference between Buchanan and Dougherty: “One is a righty [Dougherty], and one is a lefty,” she said. “It’s as simple as that.”
But Buchanan has been waiting in the wings to be the unequivocal starter in goal for her entire JMU career.
“Everyone should be able to step in whenever,” Buchanan said. “This team is really deep and we feel comfortable plugging anyone in whenever.”
JMU deploys a defense as decorated as any other group in the country, and for a team that’s also returning All-American
Isabella Peterson and first-team All-CAA selection Kacey Knobloch on offense, the pieces are there for a championship run. But, in the words of Matey, JMU has to “prove it.”
Like the last two years, JMU’s first chance to prove itself comes right away on Feb. 11 versus North Carolina. The Dukes lost to the Tar Heels 15-8 to open last year, when they were No. 2 in the country. This year, North Carolina is the preseason No. 1. “We can talk, talk, talk,” Matey said. “But the results gotta show up this year.”
CONTACT Hayden Hundley at hundlehf@dukes.jmu.edu. For more lacrosse coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports
