No. 3 Dukes Power Past UAlbany 21-12

Sunday, February 25

Harrisonburg, Va.

Noon

James Madison University

5-0

Albany

0-5

UAlbany

James Madison

2/25/2024 3:53:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – No. 3 James Madison used a second-half surge to defeat UAlbany 21-12 at Sentara Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Dukes (5-0) had three players register hat tricks for the fifth consecutive game and eight different goal scorers to post their second consecutive game with 20 or more goals. JMU outshot UAlbany (0-5) by a 33-23 margin and caused 12 turnovers to the Great Danes' seven.

Attackers Katelyn Morgan and Maddie Epke led the Dukes scoring efforts with five goals each, while Kacey Knobloch tallied her second hat trick of the season. Knobloch led the team in assists with four while Epke added two and Taylor Marchetti and Morgan notched one each.

Defensively, the Dukes were led by Ava Bleckley, Nicholle Marshall and Courtney Quirk. Quirk led the team with three ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Bleckley secured three ground balls and a caused turnover and Marshall caused three turnovers and picked up a ground ball.

UAlbany was paced by five goals from Grace McCauley, a hat trick and two assists from Katie Pascale and two goals and three assists from Bryar Hogg. Pascale also led on the defensive side of the ball with three ground balls and a caused turnover.

The Great Danes had a slight edge in the draw circle with 19 draw controls to JMU's 18. Pascale and Epke both secured 11 draw controls each for their respective teams while Bleckley recorded four draw controls for the Dukes for the second consecutive game.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – UAlbany 4, JMU 3
The Dukes opened scoring just 17 seconds into play with a fast goal from Morgan, but trailed early as the Great Danes responded with four quick goals from Roos, Phalines, Hogg and McCauley. JMU finished the quarter with two goals from Epke to cut UAlbany's lead before the break.

Second Quarter – JMU 9, UAlbany 7
Savannah Derey's man-up goal tied the game at four, but McCauley notched two more scores to give UAlbany the lead back. Knobloch found the back of the net followed by Epke's third hat trick of the season to tie the game back up at six. Pascale scored her first of the day to put UAlbany up 7-6 followed by three goals from the Dukes to give JMU the lead going into the break.

Third Quarter – JMU 16, UAlbany 10
McCauley scored the first goal of the half to cut the Dukes' lead to one. JMU responded quickly with a 6-0 run with goals from six different Dukes. The Great Danes buried two goals followed by Epke's fifth goal of the day.

Fourth Quarter – JMU 21, UAlbany 12
JMU continued the run with five straight goals from the Dukes, including three free-position goals and a man-up goal. UAlbany notched two straight with a hat trick from Pascale and a free-position goal from McCauley.

GAME NOTES

James Madison now leads UAlbany 1-0 in the all-time series.
Today's outing marks the second game this season in which the Dukes have scored 20 or more goals.
Knobloch notched four assists on the day, moving into 15th in all-time assists in JMU history (59).
Epke's 11 draw controls moved her to 17th in all-time draw controls in JMU history (116).
Bleckley secured a career-high three ground balls in today's outing. She previously recorded two ground balls in two different games this season.
Morgan found the back of the net a career-high five times while making a career-high five shots on goal. She scored two free-position goals in the outing which is also a career high. She previously recorded four goals against Cincinnati on April 16, 2023.
Epke caused a career-high three turnovers, her previous record being one which she has notched five times in her career.
Hannah Lewis recorded multiple career highs in today's outing as she secured one ground ball and made three shots on goal.
Derey recorded her first-career draw control in the matchup.
Maddie Weybrecht recorded the first caused turnover of her career.

UP NEXT
JMU (5-0) will begin a two-game road trip when it takes on Furman (1-3) in Greenville, S.C. on Saturday, March 2. The opening draw is set for 11 a.m.