JMU Lacrosse Drops Commonwealth Battle to No. 9 Virginia

Wednesday, March 20

Charlottesville, Va.

5 p.m.

James Madison University

7-2

Virginia

9-1

James Madison

Virginia

JMU Lacrosse Drops Commonwealth Battle to No. 9 Virginia

3/20/2024 8:55:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 6 James Madison fell to No. 9 Virginia on the road in a 12-8 defeat on Wednesday evening in Charlottesville.

The Dukes (7-2) out-drew the Cavaliers (9-1) by a 14-9 margin and collected 17 ground balls as opposed to the Hoos' 14, but a strong showing in net from goalkeeper Mel Josephson gave UVA the victory.

The Dukes' offense was led by senior attacker Isabella Peterson who notched her eighth hat trick of the season in the outing, and redshirt-junior attacker Olivia Mattis as she scored twice. Three other Dukes found the back of the net once while senior attacker Katelyn Morgan recorded two assists on the day and Peterson added one.

JMU performed strong on the defensive side of the ball, as senior defender Lizzy Pirisino caused a team-high four turnovers and five other Dukes all caused one each. Six Dukes notched two ground balls each with five more being tallied by five more Dukes.

Jenna Dinardo and Morgan Schwab led the Cavaliers offensive. Dinardo scored five goals and Schwab recorded one goal and three assists in the outing. The Hoos' defense was led by Mackenzie Hoag as she secured three ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Both JMU's Caitlin Boden and UVA's Josephson came out strong in the cage on Wednesday. Boden made seven saves on 19 shots faced and allowed 12 goals, and Josephson made 11 saves on the same number of shots faced while allowing eight goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – Virginia 7, JMU 2
The Dukes were held to two goals in the first quarter as Peterson found the back of the net twice. The Cavaliers began strong offensively, notching seven goals from six different players in the opening frame.

Second Quarter – Virginia 7, JMU 4
The Dukes scored the only two goals of the second frame as sophomore attacker Maddie Epke and Mattis each found the back of the net. Boden made four saves to hold the Hoos scoreless in the period.

Third Quarter – Virginia 10, JMU 5
Mattis notched her second goal of the day to open the half, but UVA responded with three consecutive goals and didn't allow the Dukes to score for the rest of the quarter.

Fourth Quarter – Virginia 12, JMU 8
Peterson notched a hat trick followed by two goals for the Cavaliers from Dinardo. Graduate student attacker Kacey Knobloch and senior midfielder Taylor Marchetti each scored for JMU, but Josephson and the Hoos' defensive efforts held strong for the final few minutes of the game.

GAME NOTES

Virginia now leads the all-time series 18-36-1.
Knobloch is now tied-19th with Robyn Dunn ('85) in all-time points in JMU history (158).
The Dukes' defeat in Wednesday's outing snaps their ten-game win streak against Commonwealth opponents.
Mattis tied three different creer highs, with two goals, two points and one ground ball. She also made a career-high four shots.
Sophomore defender Courtney Quirk collected the first draw control of her career.
Pirisino's four caused turnovers tie her career high, which she has previously achieved twice with the most recent occurrence being at Furman on March 4, 2023.
Boden tied her career-high two ground balls, having secured two in three other outings this season.
Junior attacker Savannah Derey secured her first ground ball and caused her first turnover of the season, both of which tie her career high.

UP NEXT
No. 6 James Madison (7-2, 1-0) continues its road swing on Saturday when the Dukes head to Cincinnati (8-3, 1-0) for their second AAC matchup of the season. Opening draw is set for 11 a.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.