Dukes Take Down Temple 16-7, Advance to AAC Championship Finals

Thursday, May 2

Nashville, Tenn.

8:15 p.m. ET (7:15 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

13-4 (5-1AAC)

Temple

9-7 (4-2AAC)

Temple

James Madison

Dukes Take Down Temple 16-7, Advance to AAC Championship Finals

5/3/2024 1:07:00 AM | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

NASHVILLE – No. 2 seed James Madison lacrosse defeated No. 3 seed Temple 16-7 in the American Athletic Conference Championship semifinals on Thursday evening at the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.

The victory stamped the Dukes' place in the AAC Championship finals on Saturday against the No. 1 seed Florida Gators.

JMU improved to 13-4 on the season while Temple ended its season at 9-7. The Dukes outshot the Owls by a 33-20 margin and secured 17 ground balls to Temple's 11.

The Dukes saw three players with hat tricks and eight goal scorers in the outing while also adding 10 assists on the evening. Sophomore attacker Maddie Epke led the Dukes with seven points, scoring three goals and adding four assists. Additionally, she led the draw circle with five draw controls. Senior attacker Isabella Peterson found the back of the net four times and tallied two assists and senior midfielder Taylor Marchetti also notched a hat trick.

The Dukes' defensive side of the ball was led by redshirt junior midfielder Maggie Clark and freshman defender Maddie Weybrecht. Clark secured three ground balls and caused two turnovers while Weybrecht recorded two ground balls and a career-high three caused turnovers.

Sophomore goalkeeper Caitlin Boden made seven saves on 20 shots faced, allowing seven goals and posting a .500 save percentage.

Temple saw five goal scorers, including two scores from Maeve Tobin and two from Amelia Wright, as well as three assists from Mackenzie Roth. Mia Ciancio led the Owls' defense with three ground balls and one caused turnover.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – James Madison 7, Temple 2
Epke took the opening draw for the Dukes and assisted Peterson on a quick goal to open scoring. The Dukes fired off three more goals before Temple ended the 4-0 JMU scoring run with a free-position goal from Wright. Epke notched a first-quarter hat trick but Tobin responded quickly with a goal for the Owls. Peterson and junior attacker Savannah Derey each found the back of the net to close out the first frame with two JMU goals.

Second Quarter – James Madison 11, Temple 5
The Dukes and the Owls traded off goals throughout the second quarter. Marchetti scored twice while Peterson scored once, each notching first-half hat tricks.

Third Quarter – James Madison 14, Temple 6
The second half got off to a slow start with the first goal coming at the 9:17 mark from senior attacker Katelyn Morgan. Peterson notched her fourth goal of the game and Temple added one more. Graduate student attacker Kacey Knobloch scored her first of the night to end the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 16, Temple 7
The fourth quarter saw just one goal from each team, scored by Schickling for the Owls and freshman attacker Kaitlyn Carney for the Dukes.

GAME NOTES

James Madison now leads Temple 8-4 in the all-time series.
The Dukes are advancing to their ninth straight conference championship game in each tournament they have competed in since 2014.
Peterson's two assists in the outing moved her to 13th in all-time assists in JMU history with 62.
Morgan notched four points, improving her to 13th in all-time points in JMU history with 187.
Weybrecht recorded a career high three caused turnovers, having previously caused two at Florida on April 13.

UP NEXT
The No. 2 seed Dukes will take on the No. 1 seed Florida Gators on Saturday, May 4 at noon CT (1 p.m. ET) in the American Athletic Conference Championship finals. The matchup will be nationally televised on ESPNU.