JMU Lacrosse Doubles Up Cincinnati in Road Victory

Saturday, March 23

Cincinnati, Ohio

11 a.m.

James Madison University

7-2, 1-0AAC

Cincinnati

8-3, 1-0AAC

James Madison

Cincinnati

3/23/2024 3:04:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio – No. 6 James Madison cruised past Cincinnati in a 19-8 victory to earn its second American Athletic Conference win of the season on Saturday.

The Dukes dominated the draw circle by a 21-9 margin and capitalized on 7-of-8 free position opportunities to improve to 8-2 (2-0) on the season while the Bearcats dropped to 8-4 (1-1).

JMU's scoring efforts were led by senior attacker Isabella Peterson and sophomore attacker Maddie Epke. Peterson found the back of the net five times while Epke notched four goals and one assist in the outing. Redshirt junior Olivia Mattis scored twice and added an assist and graduate student attacker Kacey Knobloch notched one goal and two assists.

The Dukes' defense was spearheaded by freshman defender Ava Bleckley who secured three ground balls and caused four turnovers on Saturday. Epke scooped up three ground balls and tallied two caused turnovers while senior defender Nicholle Marshall recorded two ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Epke rounded out her strong performance with a career-high 14 draw controls while Peterson tallied four, Bleckley collected two and Knobloch added one.

Goalkeeper Caitlin Boden scooped up two ground balls for the Dukes and made seven saves on 25 shots faced, posting a .467 save percentage.

Midfielder Lauren Ottensmeyer scored a team-high four goals for Cincinnati and the Dukes' defense held the nation's second highest goal-scorer, Camryn Callaghan, to just one goal. Goalkeeper Hailey Darko made seven saves on 35 shots faced, posting a .269 save percentage.

The Dukes outshot the Bearcats by a 35-23 margin and scooped up 20 ground balls over Cincinnati's nine.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – JMU 4, Cincinnati 2
Callaghan opened scoring for the Bearcats, followed by a JMU free-position goal from Peterson and a Cincinnati goal from Julie Rose. The Dukes notched three consecutive goals to gain the lead and close the frame.

Second Quarter – JMU 7, Cincinnati 6
Peterson quickly found the back of the net for the second time, but Ottensmeyer rattled off three consecutive goals for Cincinnati to tie the game at five. Elizabeth Murphy notched one for the Bearcats to give them a 6-5 lead, but Epke and sophomore midfielder Lauren Savage each scored once to give the Dukes the lead back going into halftime.

Third Quarter – JMU 12, Cincinnati 6
JMU controlled the frame as the Dukes continued their second quarter scoring run with five consecutive goals. Their defense caused five turnovers and didn't allow a Cincinnati goal in the frame.

Fourth Quarter – JMU 19, Cincinnati 8
Peterson's fifth goal of the day gave JMU a 13-6 lead to open the fourth quarter. The Dukes' 8-0 run was ended by a free-position goal from Hailey Joy Simpson, but soon after JMU went on a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 19-7. Ottensmeyer netted her fourth goal of the day with one second remaining to finish the final frame.

GAME NOTES

James Madison now leads Cincinnati 3-0 in the all-time series.
Saturday's win marks 17 consecutive regular season conference victories for the Dukes. Their last conference loss was on March 7, 2021, when they lost at Elon, 6-5.
Knobloch is now tied-ninth with Gail Decker ('04) in all-time assists in JMU history (66). She also jumped to 18th in all-time points in JMU history with 161.
Epke's career high 14 draw controls moved her to tied-sixth in all-time draw controls in JMU history with 163. She is tied with Elena Romesburg ('18).
Senior attacker Katelyn Morgan is now tied-20th in all-time points in JMU history with 158. She ties Robyn Dunn ('85).
Mattis notched a career-high three points and tied her career-high two goals, one assist and one free-position goal.
Sophomore midfielder Josie Pell made three shots, two shots on goal and scored a free-position goal on Saturday, all of which set new career highs. She also tied her career high one caused turnover, one goal, one assist and two points in the outing.
Bleckley's three ground balls ties her career high which she achieved vs. UAlbany on February 25.
Senior midfielder Taylor Marchetti tied her career-high two free-position goals which she previously achieved against Cincinnati on May 4, 2023.
Savage recorded two goals, two points and one free-position goal, all of which tie her previous career highs which she set against ECU on March 16.
Peterson tied her career-high of three ground balls and made a season-high eight shots on goal while tying her season-high five goals, 10 shots and one free-position goal.
Knobloch secured a season high two ground balls on Saturday and tied her season-high one caused turnover and one draw control for the fourth time each this season.

UP NEXT
No. 6 James Madison (8-2, 2-0) will close out its March slate with another top ten matchup when the Dukes head to Baltimore, Md. to take on No. 10 Johns Hopkins (8-3, 1-1) on Saturday, March 30. Opening draw is set for 5 p.m.