HARRISONBURG, Va. – No. 7 James Madison lacrosse defeated its third ranked opponent in as many weeks and won its first ever American Athletic Conference game, finishing on a 6-0 run to top No. 8 Florida 14-9 at Sentara Park Saturday afternoon.

The Dukes’ second win over a top-10 opponent this season improved them to 8-1 overall while Florida fell to 5-3 with the defeat. JMU is off to its best start through nine games since starting 8-1 in 2018.

Redshirt senior Lizzy Fox scored three goals for her first hat trick since April 25, 2021, while Isabella Peterson added three for her seventh hat trick of the season and also secured seven draw controls. Junior Katelyn Morgan and freshman Maddie Epke lit up the assist board with four helpers each.

Leading another solid defensive performance, redshirt senior Mairead Durkin caused three turnovers and added two ground balls while classmate Rachel Matey came up with four ground balls to go with two draw controls on the day. The Dukes held the Gators scoreless for the final 21:30 of the game.

For the Gators, Emma LoPinto scored four goals on seven shots while Danielle Pavinelli scored twice.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – Florida 3, James Madison 2
Freshman Brianna Mennella struck first, the eighth time this season JMU scored first in a game. From there, LoPinto and Pavinelli each scored tie-breaking goals to hand the Gators the first quarter advantage.

Second Quarter – James Madison 7, Florida 7
A pair of JMU goals vaulted the Dukes back into the lead at the 11:56 mark, but Florida scored four goals in 3:50 to grab a 7-4 lead. The Dukes responded with three goals from three different sticks in 1:49 to tie the game. There were five combined penalties in the period, three by Florida and two by JMU, with all five leading to woman-up goals by the opposition.

Third Quarter – James Madison 10, Florida 9
The Gators took a pair of one-goal leads, but tallies from Maggie Clark and Taylor Marchetti shifted the Dukes into the lead with a quarter to play. The Dukes secured eight ground balls in the period.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 14, Florida 9
After a scoreless 8:57, four different Dukes closed out the game’s scoring in 5:34. The Dukes allowed just three shots to Florida all quarter.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• The Dukes have defeated multiple top-10 opponents in a season for the first time since 2018.
• Saturday’s win marks JMU’s seventh consecutive victory in a conference opener, a streak that dates back to 2016.
• JMU led the shot clock 30-22, out-shooting Florida in every quarter on the day.
• The scoreless Florida fourth quarter was the third consecutive time the defense has not allowed a goal in the final period.
• There were seven ties and four lead changes in the game.
• Fox became the fourth Duke to secure a hat trick this season.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will face yet another ranked home matchup on Wednesday, March 22, taking on No. 10 Virginia in Harrisonburg at 5 p.m. JMU will return to league play on Saturday, March 25 at Temple at noon.

— JMU Athletics —