Dukes Dominate Old Dominion, Clinch No. 2 Seed for AAC Championship

Saturday, April 27

Norfolk, Va.

Noon

James Madison University

12-4, 5-1

Old Dominion

3-13, 0-6

James Madison

ODU

Dukes Dominate Old Dominion, Clinch No. 2 Seed for AAC Championship

4/27/2024 2:54:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. –  No. 17 James Madison lacrosse doubled up Old Dominion in an 18-9 victory over the Monarchs on Saturday afternoon at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.

The Dukes (12-4, 5-1) clinched the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament with Saturday's win over the Monarchs (3-13, 0-6). JMU outdrew ODU by a 25-5 margin and made 43 shots to the Monarchs' 24.

James Madison's offense saw three players with hat tricks for the second consecutive game. Senior attacker Isabella Peterson scored five goals, sophomore attacker Maddie Epke added four goals and an assist and redshirt junior attacker Olivia Mattis tallied three goals.

Senior attacker Katelyn Morgan recorded her second consecutive game with three or more assists. Epke led the draw circle for the Dukes having collected 17 on the day.

Senior defender Nicholle Marshall led the defensive side of the ball for the Dukes with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Sophomore goalkeeper Caitlin Boden made five saves on 16 shots faced, allowing five goals and posting a .500 save percentage. Additionally, she secured three ground balls in the outing. Freshman goalkeeper Emily Evans also saw time in the cage on Saturday.

Emma Arnold led all sides of the ball for Old Dominion, totaling five goals, four ground balls, two caused turnovers and four draw controls. Jenna Peccia made 15 saves in the cage, allowed 16 goals and secured four ground balls.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – James Madison 5, Old Dominion 2
Arnold opened scoring for the Monarchs to take the lead but Brianna Mennella answered with a JMU free-position goal to tie the game at one. Epke and Peterson added to the JMU 3-0 scoring run with a goal each. ODU notched one more goal before Peterson and senior midfielder Taylor Marchetti closed out the first frame with two more Dukes' goals.

Second Quarter – James Madison 13, Old Dominion 5
In a high-scoring second quarter, the Dukes continued their first-quarter scoring run while also going on a 4-0 scoring run later in the frame. ODU notched three goals across the quarter.

Third Quarter – James Madison 15, Old Dominion 6
Epke drove down the field off the draw to score on the opening possession of the half. Mattis notched her second of the day for the Dukes while Arnold scored for the Monarchs to close out the frame.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 18, Old Dominion 9
JMU went on a 3-0 scoring run to open the final frame followed by a 3-0 run from Old Dominion to end the match.

GAME NOTES

James Madison leads Old Dominion 38-8 in the all-time series.
With today's lacrosse win, JMU leads ODU 13.5 to 7.5 in the second annual TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge.
Senior attacker Kacey Knobloch tallied one assist in the outing, which moves her into sole possession of eighth in assists in JMU history with 72.
Evans secured the first two ground balls of her career while also making her first two career saves in the cage.

UP NEXT
The No. 2 seed Dukes begin postseason play as they take on No. 3 seed Temple in the American Athletic Conference tournament semifinals on Thursday, May 2 at 8:15 p.m. (ET) at the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex in Nashville, Tenn. A JMU win over the Owls would advance the Dukes to the AAC tournament championship on Saturday, May 4 at noon. The semifinals will be streamed on ESPN+ while the championship will be nationally televised on ESPNU.