Field Hockey Holds Off No. 18 Liberty in 3-2 Home Win

Tuesday, October 29

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

Liberty

10/29/2024 5:40:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Alice Roeper's (Delft, The Netherlands/Segbroek College) first-half brace gave James Madison a 2-0 advantage at the break and the Dukes held on for a 3-2 victory over No. 18 Liberty in non-conference field hockey action at the JMU Field Hockey Complex on Tuesday afternoon.

For JMU (12-4, 6-0 MAC), the win marked the program's first over a ranked opponent since posting a 2-0 shutout versus No. 12 Wake Forest on Oct. 16, 2022.

In addition to Roeper's two goals, graduate student Mia Julian found the back of the net for the game-winning goal, her third of the season. Junior Julie Narleski (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge), fifth year Carissa Tambroni (State College, Pa./Kimball Union Academy (N.H.)) and Julian chipped in with assists.

Senior Katie Fricke made her second career start and tallied five saves, including four in the second half for the win.

Tuti Dell Anna scored both goals for the Flames, while both assists came from Dara Semmartin.

Quoting Head Coach Christy Morgan
What a good game. The coaches know that this team has it, and we showed up and executed when we needed to. It was beautiful, possessive, team hockey. People who came off the bench executed their roles, like Mia coming in and scoring right away. Julie went in and found Alice for the first goal of the game. Everybody's doing their job and taking personal responsibility. It was a total team and team win over a great Liberty squad.

How It Happened

Narleski connected with Roeper in the circle who spun and shot five-hole to give the Dukes a 1-0 lead at the 6:42 mark of the opening frame.
Halfway through the second quarter, Julian drove along the goal line and dished to Roeper who tapped it in to make it 2-0 JMU heading into the break.
Liberty took advantage of a penalty corner late in the third as Dell Anna found Semmartin on the right post for the deflection to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Tambroni intercepted a pass at midfield and found Julian in transition for a tip-in to the bottom left corner to create a 3-1 cushion with 9:57 remaining.
The Flames earned a penalty corner in the final three minutes and converted with another goal from Dell Anna with an assist from Semmartin.
The Dukes played keep away and did now allow a shot for the remainder of the game to hold on for a 3-2 win.

Game Notes

James Madison is tied with Liberty in the all-time series, 4-4, dating back to 2015.
The Dukes' 12 wins are the most by the team since going 12-7 (6-0 CAA) in 2021.
Roeper has 13 goals in the 2024 campaign, including six in the last six games.
Liberty held the advantage in shots (13-12), shots on goal (7-5) and penalty corners (4-3).

Up Next
The Dukes will remain in the Commonwealth of Virginia for a meeting at Longwood on Friday, Nov. 1. Action in Farmville, Va. is set for 5 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.