HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison field hockey trailed 1-0 less than two minutes into the contest but responded with two goals in the first half for a 2-1 win over Richmond on Sunday afternoon at the JMU Field Hockey complex.

The Dukes (8-2, 3-0 MAC) limited the Spiders (8-3, 3-0 A10) to five total shots to snap their four-game winning streak. JMU is off to its best start since 2008 when the team began the season 9-1.

Senior Cassidy Strittmatter extended her point streak to three games with JMU’s first goal of the day. Junior Skyler Brown was credited with the game-winner, while classmate Julie Narleski dished out a pair of assists off the bench. Alice Roeper registered an assist for the second game in a row.

Redshirt sophomore Molly Schreiner recorded three saves to improve to 8-2 in goal.

Valen Luna Paratore scored the game’s opening goal, with assists from Clara Larripa and Jess McMeeking. Netminder Kristen Rake made two stops in the loss, while Alexa Derr picked up her first defensive save of the season.

Quoting Head Coach Christy Morgan
“It was a great performance. Richmond was a very good team with some elite players that we neutralized as part of our game plan. We finished when we had to, and the lessons we learned from past games paid off as we played possession hockey in the end with skill and awareness being ahead by one goal. Good performance overall – we played as a total unit with a lot of trust, finesse and fire.”

How It Happened
• Richmond converted on a penalty corner with a stick stop McMeeking to Larripa, who made a backhand pass to Luna Paratore for a shot to the near side to make it 1-0 at the 13:10 mark of the first.
• With under four minutes to go in the first, Narleski connected with Strittmatter in front of the goal for the quick hit to even the game at 1-1.
• Brown redirected a shot from Roeper on a corner play with an assist from Narleski to pull the Dukes ahead 2-1 midway through the second.
• JMU turned away three UR penalty corners in the game’s final seven minutes to claim the 2-1 victory.

Game Notes
• James Madison leads Richmond in the all-time series 46-7-1, dating back to 1974.
• The Dukes held the advantage in shots (7-5) and shots on goal (5-4), while the Spiders drew more penalty corners (5-3).
• The win was JMU’s first this season after failing to score the opening goal. Previously, the Dukes were 0-2 in 2024 when allowing the first goal of a game, with losses to Monmouth (4-3, Sept. 8) and Cal (3-0, Sept. 22).
• JMU won its fourth consecutive game for the first time since 2022 when the team had a five-game winning streak from Sept. 10 through Sept. 25.
• The Dukes have limited opponents to 12 total shots over the last four games.
• Narleski’s multi-assist performance was the first of her career.
• Stretching back to last season, the Dukes have won 10 of their last 12 games.

Up Next
The Dukes will pick up Mid-American Conference play on Friday versus Kent State. Action at the JMU Field Hockey Complex is slated for 3 p.m.

— JMU Athletics —