Second-Half Surge Pushes #8 Virginia Past #22 JMU

Friday, March 26

Harrisonburg, Va.

5 p.m.

James Madison University

4-3

Virginia

8-2

Virginia

James Madison

3/26/2021 8:17:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Eighth-ranked Virginia used a seven-goal run to bridge the halves and rally for a 15-12 victory against #22 James Madison in non-conference lacrosse action Friday evening at Sentara Park.

The Cavaliers improved to 8-2 on the year, while the Dukes dipped to 4-3 following its second straight loss to a top-10 squad.

Morgan Schwab netted three goals and an assist, and Taylor Regan scored three times to lead the Virginia attack. Lillie Kloak also scored twice in the win.

For JMU, Isabella Peterson tied her season high with four goals while adding three draw controls. Daria Lucchesi notched a career-high three goals for the Dukes, while Taylor Marchetti added two goals and an assist.

JMU assisted on nine of its 12 goals, as Kacey Knobloch and Rachel Matey each had three helpers. The three assists were a career high for Matey, who also contributed a season-best six draw controls.

Molly Dougherty had another strong showing between the pipes, making 11 saves, while her counterpart from Virginia, Charlie Campbell, racked up eight stops.

JMU scored five straight goals in a matter of eight minutes to build a 7-4 lead in the first half, but Virginia scored two in the final minutes to trim the lead to 7-6 at the break.

U.Va. opened the second half with five in a row less than 10 minutes into the frame to take an 11-7 lead. JMU scored three of the next four, bringing it to within 12-10 with 11:54 to play, but a three-goal answer by the Cavaliers sealed the win for the visitors.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Virginia led the game in the shots department, 33-27 (26-20 SOG).
The Dukes bested U.Va. in the circle, holding a 15-14 lead on draw controls.
The Cavaliers had edges in both caused turnovers (8-4) and ground balls (16-14). Annie Dyson had a game-high four caused turnovers for Virginia.
JMU did a solid job inside the eight-meter, holding Virginia to just 2-of-9 on free-position shots.
Peterson has scored in every game of her collegiate career, extending her goals streak to 12 games.
Lucchesi has also scored at least one goal in 10 straight games, and Knobloch has a point in nine consecutive.
Emma Johnson moved into a tie for fifth all-time at JMU with 153 career ground balls.

QUOTING HEAD COACH SHELLEY KLAES
"This team is clearly getting better every single time we step out. I thought U.Va. had a really great beginning of the second half and put us on our back heels. It's good to see that JMU was able to find some energy in the second half to make it a game again, but in the end, we gave them too many second and third chances on the attacking end. We had a lot great offense off the bench, it's something we've been trying to generate on this team, so I was excited to see the sparks off the bench offensively. I thought we did really well on the draw, especially in the second half with Bella."

UP NEXT
JMU is back in action on Wednesday, March 31 with a trip to Lynchburg to face Liberty. The opening draw is set for 5 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.