Lacrosse Defeats No. 3 North Carolina in Overtime Thriller

Saturday, February 10

Harrisonburg, Va.

Noon

James Madison University

1-0

North Carolina

0-1

North Carolina

James Madison

Lacrosse Defeats No. 3 North Carolina in Overtime Thriller

2/10/2024 5:28:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Katelyn Morgan scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift No. 6 James Madison lacrosse over No. 3 North Carolina, 19-18, on Saturday afternoon at Sentara Park.

JMU (1-0) saw three players register hat tricks, while the team went 4-of-5 (.800) in free position shots to top the Tar Heels (0-1).

Sophomore Maddie Epke recorded her first career hat trick with a career-high seven goals and one assist for the Dukes along with a team-best 10 draw controls. Seniors Isabella Peterson and Taylor Marchetti also recorded hat tricks with five and three goals, respectively. In addition to her game winner, Morgan tallied two assists, while graduate student Kacey Knobloch finished with two goals and two assists.

Sophomore Courtney Quirk paced the Dukes' defense with two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Freshman Ava Bleckley secured two ground balls and had a caused turnover in her collegiate debut.

Graduate student Ashley Humphrey led the charge for the Tar Heels attack with three goals and four assists. Freshman Eva Ingrilli and seniors Alyssa Long and Caitlyn Wurzburger each recorded hat tricks. Sophomore Caroline Godine added two goals and three assists, while sophomore Kiley Mottice recorded two goals and one assist. Graduate student Emily Nalls secured eight of the Tar Heels' 22 draw controls.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – James Madison 4, UNC 3
Peterson opened the scoring for the Dukes followed by two goals from Epke to give JMU an early 3-0 lead. A goal from Ingrilli put UNC on the board but Marchetti responded quickly with her first goal of the game. Wurzburger scored followed by a man-down goal from Ingrilli to cut JMU's lead to one. UNC dominated the draw control 6-1.

Second Quarter – UNC 10, James Madison 9
Wurzburger scored to begin the quarter followed by a three-goal JMU run. UNC answered back with six straight goals to give the Tar Heels a 10-7 lead. Epke scored a free-position goal followed by a goal from Peterson to cut the lead to 10-9 going into the break.

Third Quarter – James Madison 14, UNC 14
The Dukes continued their second-quarter run, scoring five consecutive goals to open the half. UNC's 9:46 scoring drought was ended by a goal from Humphrey midway through the quarter. UNC scored three goals to end the quarter and tie the game going into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 18, UNC 18
Humphrey opened scoring in the quarter to give the Tar Heels a 15-14 edge. JMU quickly responded with four straight goals, three of which were produced by Epke, to put the Dukes up 18-15 with 4:07 to play. UNC responded with three unanswered goals, including a goal from Long with 17 seconds remaining in play to force overtime.

Overtime – James Madison 19, UNC 18
Epke won the opening draw control to set up Morgan for the game-winning goal on the first possession of overtime just 1:05 into the period.

GAME NOTES

North Carolina leads James Madison 12-5 in the all-time series.
Saturday's win marks the first time JMU has defeated UNC since its 15-12 win over the Tar Heels in the 2018 NCAA Championship Semifinal on May 25.
This was the first matchup in which the Dukes defeated the Tar Heels at home since their 15-14 win in double overtime on Feb. 10, 2018.
JMU's victory marks just the 13th time in history that JMU has defeated a top-five ranked opponent.
The Dukes' 19 goals are the most they have scored against the Tar Heels in the series history.
Quirk's two ground balls and two caused turnovers are both career highs. She previously secured one ground ball at Vanderbilt on April 8, 2023, and has never previously recorded a caused turnover in her career.
Seven goals are the most for Epke since she scored two against Maryland in the NCAA Second Round on May 14, 2023. Her eight points are a career-high, with her previous high being seven (1G, 6A) at High Point on Feb. 25, 2023. Her 10 draw controls, two free-position goals, 11 shots and 10 shots on goal are also career highs.
Sophomore Caitlin Boden made a career-high seven saves in her first career start.
Sophomore Josie Pell's draw control is the first of her career.

UP NEXT
The No. 6 Dukes (1-0) will remain in Atlantic Coast Conference play when they take on Virginia Tech on Wednesday, February 14 at 5 p.m. The matchup will be streamed on ESPN+.