BLACKSBURG, Va.. – No. 12 James Madison lacrosse clamped down on defense and allowed just a single goal in the second half, battling to an 8-6 victory over Virginia Tech at Thompson Field Wednesday evening.

The Dukes evened their record at 1-1 while the Hokies fell to the same mark.

For the Dukes, redshirt junior Isabella Peterson scored three times for her second hat trick to start the season. Five others contributed a tally on offense.

Defensively, Rachel Matey caused three Virginia Tech turnovers and added a pair of ground balls. Redshirt sophomore Maggie Clark added four ground balls to set a career high while fellow midfielder Lilly Boswell added three, as JMU won the ground ball battle 15-10. Kat Buchanan stopped half of Virginia Tech’s 12 shots on goal, as she marked her fewest goals allowed in a full game.

For Virginia Tech, Claire Schotta and Blair Guy scored twice, while goalkeeper Jocelyn Torres made 10 saves.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – James Madison 4, Virginia Tech 1
The Dukes peppered Torres with seven shots on goal, converting on four. With the score tied 1-1, JMU scored three times in 10:27, with freshman Maddie Epke supplying the final tally with 12 seconds to play.

Second Quarter – James Madison 6, Virginia Tech 5
The Hokies surged back with three goals in 5:03 to tie the game at four. JMU responded with strikes from Peterson and Maggie Clark before a final-minute Virginia Tech score cut the lead in half. The Dukes scooped four ground balls in the quarter following five in the first.

Third Quarter – James Madison 7, Virginia Tech 6
Peterson completed her hat trick on the first possession of the quarter, but the Dukes were held scoreless the rest of the way, as the Hokies cut the lead to one again with 4:24 left. JMU did not commit a single turnover in the period.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 8, Virginia Tech 6
Buchanan made two saves to preserve the one-goal lead before Caitlin McElwee’s first career tally extended the advantage at 6:32. The Dukes were a perfect 4-for-4 in clears in the quarter.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• The Dukes out-shot the Hokies 24-19 including 18-12 in shots on goal.
• Virginia Tech’s scoreless fourth quarter was the first scoreless quarter for JMU in seven games, having last held Liberty scoreless in the fourth quarter on April 13, 2022.
• JMU committed just seven turnovers, fewest in a game since committing just five on April 15, 2016 against Elon.

RECORDS AND MILESTONES
• With two draw controls on the evening, Matey became just the second player in JMU history with 200 draw controls for her career, joining Haley Warden.
• Freshman Josie Pell notched her first career assist.
• The victory was the 199th of Shelley Klaes’ JMU coaching tenure.

UP NEXT
JMU will face UConn in a netural-site contest hosted by USA Lacrosse at Tierney Field in Sparks, Md. on Saturday at noon.

— JMU Athletics —