Dukes Shut Out Bellarmine, Clinch Spot in MAC Tournament

Sunday, October 19

Louisville, Ky.

11 a.m.

James Madison University

(9-7, 4-3)

Bellarmine

(2-13, 2-5)

James Madison

Bellarmine

Dukes Shut Out Bellarmine, Clinch Spot in MAC Tournament

10/19/2025 1:15:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

LOUISVILLE – Four Dukes found the back of the net as James Madison blanked Bellarmine 5-0 on Sunday afternoon in Mid-American Conference action at Trager Stadium.

With the win, the JMU (9-7, 4-3 MAC) has clinched a spot in the MAC Field Hockey Championship, which will be hosted by the Dukes in Harrisonburg, Nov. 5-8. The tournament will begin with quarterfinal games between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, followed by No. 3 against No. 6. The top two seeds earn a bye to the semifinals, scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 6.

The Dukes scored on three penalty corners, and held a lopsided advantage in shots (28-3), shots on goal (16-2) and corners (11-1) over the Knights (2-13, 2-5 MAC).

Brynna Hill had a career day with two goals – her first scores of the season – and one assist for five points to pace the Dukes offense, while Jola Ollrogge chipped in with a personal-best three assists. Skyler Brown, Julie Narleski and Puck Jansen also scored in the win, with Brown being credited for the game-winning goal, her fourth of the season.

Hannah Popolis made her second consecutive start, tallying one save in 45:00 of action before Lilly Sweeney came in for the final period. Sween rejected one Bellarmine shot to secure the combined shutout for the two goalkeepers.

For the Knights, netminder Kailey Workman registered 11 saves for her second straight outing with double-digit stops and fourth of the season.

Quoting Head Coach Christy Morgan
"What an amazing game of team hockey! Everyone played for each other, everyone worked for each other, and together we were solid. I'm so proud of the team. Both keepers got the job done. It's a team that understands and plays by the philosophy that it's about the we not the me. I'm very proud!"

How It Happened

Late in the opening frame, the Dukes executed a penalty corner with a shot from Brown off a pass to from the top of the circle from Ollrogge to make it 1-0 after one.
Halfway through the second, Ollrogge stole the ball in Bellarmine's defensive end and connected with Hill, who drove to the top of the circle and delivered a backhand shot to the bottom right of the goal to give the Dukes a 2-0 lead.
Covarrubias added insurance with under three minutes to play in the half with a direct shot on a penalty corner with the insertion from Hill and a stop by Ollrogge to put JMU on top 3-0 at the intermission.
On a restart, Hill sent a pass inside from the top of the circle for a one-timer by Narleski to increase the Dukes' lead to four just over five minutes into the third.
Puck Jansen capped off the scoring, finding the back of the net off a sweep from Ollrogge to go ahead 5-0 with 12:18 to play.

Game Notes

JMU leads Bellarmine 3-0 in the all-time series, and has posted shutouts in each meeting with scores of 5-0 (Oct. 19, 2025), 6-0 (Oct. 18, 2024) and 3-0 (Sept. 10, 2024).
Ollrogge is the first Duke to record three or more assists since 2022 when Kara McClure registered three helpers against Bucknell on Aug. 28.
The Dukes have now had three games this season in which four or more players have scored, accomplishing the feat against two other MAC opponents in wins versus Central Michigan (5-0, Sept. 19) and Longwood (5-0, Sept. 26).
Since joining the Mid-American Conference to begin the 2024 season, the Dukes have shut out league opponents seven times in 15 regular-season contests.

Up Next
The Dukes will hit the road again next week with a Sunday tilt at Kent State. Action at Murphy-Mellis Field is slated for 12 p.m.