Dukes Dominate Virginia Tech, 17-5

Wednesday, February 14

Harrisonburg, Va.

5 p.m.

James Madison University

2-0

Virginia Tech

1-1

Virginia Tech

James Madison

2/14/2024 9:50:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – No. 3 James Madison dominated both sides of the ball in a 17-5 victory over Virginia Tech on Wednesday evening at Sentara Park.

The Dukes (2-0) saw three players register hat tricks for the second consecutive game while going a perfect 20-of-20 during clear situations to defeat the Hokies (1-1).

Senior Isabella Peterson led the charge for the James Madison offense as she scored five times, achieving her second consecutive game with a hat trick, along with a team-high seven draw controls. Graduate student Kacey Knobloch scored four goals and tallied four assists, while senior Katelyn Morgan notched three goals and two assists. Olivia Mattis scored two goals for the Dukes off the bench.

Defensively, the Dukes were led by senior Lizzy Pirisino with two ground balls and four caused turnovers. Senior Nicholle Marshall caused two turnovers and added a ground ball. Sophomore Caitlin Boden allowed just five goals on 19 shots faced while making eight saves. She held Virginia Tech scoreless in the opening quarter.

Virginia Tech saw five goals from five different players, while sophomore Ella Rishko and graduate student Kayla Downey both added an assist to lead the Hokies with two points each. The Hokies' defense was paced by graduate student Molly Dunphey as she secured three ground balls and caused two turnovers. Junior Olivia Vergano secured seven of the Hokies' 10 draw controls.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – James Madison 7, Virginia Tech 0
James Madison dominated first quarter scoring after Knobloch opened with a man-up goal to begin a 7-0 JMU run. She scored two goals in the quarter, along with two from Peterson, two from Morgan and one from sophomore Josie Pell. Boden made three saves to keep the Hokies off the board in the first frame.

Second Quarter – James Madison 12, Virginia Tech 2
The Dukes continued their first quarter run, as Peterson scored the eighth-straight JMU goal just 0:47 into the quarter. Virginia Tech ended the Dukes' 8-0 run with a free-position goal from Rishko. JMU and Virginia Tech traded off a pair of goals, followed by three unanswered JMU goals to close the half.

Third Quarter – James Madison 15, Virginia Tech 4
Mattis continued the Dukes' scoring followed by two goals from junior Savannah Derey and freshman Hannah Lewis to give the JMU a 15-2 edge. The Dukes' 6-0 run was stopped by a Hokies goal from sophomore Caroline Little followed by a goal from senior Claire Schotta to end the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 17, Virginia Tech 5
Both defenses held strong in the fourth frame, with just two goals from JMU and one from Virginia Tech.

GAME NOTES

James Madison now leads Virginia Tech 20-1 in the all-time series.
JMU has won its last 10 games against commonwealth opponents, with its last loss to a Virginia opponent being the 10-9 defeat to Virginia Tech on Feb. 16, 2022.
Tonight's 12-goal margin of victory ties the second largest against Virginia Tech, which the Dukes also achieved in their 20-8 victory on March 21, 2004. The largest margin of victory is 13, which the Dukes have notched twice versus the Hokies.
The Dukes secured their second-straight Atlantic Coast Conference win on Wednesday. This follows their 19-18 overtime win over then-No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Peterson jumped to 15th in all-time assists in JMU history (56) while Knobloch moved to 18th (53).
Knobloch tied her career-high four goals as well as her career-high eight points. This is the fourth time she has scored four goals in a game, with the most recent being at William and Mary on April 16, 2022. She previously recorded eight points versus Elon on April 9, 2022.
Pirisino caused a career-high four turnovers in tonight's outing. Her previous career-high was three, which she achieved four times.
Boden secured a career-high two ground balls while making a career-high eight saves.
Mattis tied her career-high two goals and three shots. This is the fourth time she has scored two goals, with the most recent being at East Carolina on April 29, 2023.
Four freshmen made their collegiate debut in tonight's game. Lewis scored her first goal, while attacker Emily Simkin and defender Maddie Weybrecht both secured their first ground ball. Attacker Kaitlyn Carney also saw action for the first time.
Pell notched her first goal and assist of the season, both tying her career-high of one in a game, while recording a career-high two points.

UP NEXT
The No. 3 Dukes (2-0) will face off against No. 24 UConn (0-1) in Sparks, Md. for a neutral-site matchup hosted by USA Lacrosse on Saturday, Feb. 17 at noon.