The High Point University women's lacrosse team's late rally fell short as they were defeated, 13-8, by James Madison on Saturday (Feb. 22) afternoon at Vert Stadium. High Point opened the game up slower than they wanted, giving up a goal to JMU's Isabella Peterson 45 seconds into the contest. JMU continued to apply pressure offensively but Sarah Zeto denied the Dukes twice with two last-second saves. Thanks to the save the Panthers were able to capitalize and clear the ball out of its defensive half. After trading possession in the midfield High Point got things going offensively. Abby Hormes was able to find a cutting Rachel Foster, who beat JMU's goalie for the first HPU goal of the day. The tie was short-lived as the Dukes regained the lead just four minutes later. With a one-goal lead midway through the first period it was once again Isabelle Peterson who extended the visitors lead to 3-1. Needing a spark, Ashley Britton was able to draw a foul on JMU late in the half, earning a free-position attempt. Despite multiple efforts at goal, the Panthers were stonewalled by the Dukes goalie. James Madison would go on to score again taking a 4-1 lead into halftime. The visitors got on the board with two quick goals coming out of the locker room, pushing their lead to 6-1. Britton countered for High Point, scoring off of a free-position shot to bring the score to 7-2. HPU's defense weathered a fury of attacks from the JMU offense early in the second half but ultimately let up, allowing the Dukes to score four goals in eight minutes. Down 11-2 High Point made a two-goal run to cut the deficit. First Emma Genovese found a slashing Hormes to make it 11-3 and less than a minute later Britton scored her eighth goal of the year. Moments after the goal High Point found themselves on the wrong end of a JMU fast break. Jill Rall was able to snuff out the attack with a save, sparking another HPU run. With just over ten minutes remaining HPU scored two quick goals to bring the score to 11-6. Foster scored again for the home side with 11:11 left, followed by a Brielle Prouty free-position shot and goal two minutes later. James Madison responded, scoring a goal at the 7:53 mark. High Point was able to score two more times in the dwindling moments of the game to put the final at 13-8. Despite the score, head coach Lyndsey Boswell spoke on the positives from her team down the stretch. "I think the end of this game is how we want to play all the time," said Boswell. "I think if we can play exactly how we did in that last ten minutes, that's exactly what we're looking for from the girls. We just have to put a full sixty minutes together, once we do that we'll get wins." Up Next: High Point travels to Johnny Unitas Stadium (Towson, Md.) on Saturday (Feb. 29) for the first road game of the year when it visits Towson.