SYRACUSE, N.Y. – James Madison lacrosse fell in the NCAA quarterfinal round on Thursday, as the Dukes were unable to overcome a halftime deficit and fell to Syracuse 13-7 in the JMA Wireless Dome.

No. 7 JMU wrapped up its season at 19-3, the second-most wins all-time in program history. No. 3 Syracuse improved to 18-2 overall and advanced to its first national semifinal since 2021.

Redshirt junior Isabella Peterson scored twice to lead the Dukes and added three draw controls, while five others scored once. Freshman Maddie Epke also tied for the team lead with three draws.

Redshirt senior Kat Buchanan put up a strong final performance in her final game in net, with nine saves on a .409 save percentage. Junior Nicholle Marshall scooped three ground balls along with a caused turnover while senior Lilly Boswell had two ground balls and a caused turnover defensively.

Syracuse was led by Olivia Adamson, who had four goals on five shots, two assists and a game-high nine draw controls. Graduate student Tessa Query had six ground balls and three caused turnovers to lead the defensive unit.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – Syracuse 2, James Madison 1
Taylor Marchetti scored on JMU’s first offensive possession and the Dukes held the lead for 11:06. Syracuse took the lead with a pair of goals in 1:02, but Buchanan kept things tight with three early saves.

Second Quarter – Syracuse 5, James Madison 3
Down 3-1, Peterson scored her 90th goal of the season to make it 3-2 before Morgan tied things at three. The Orange scored twice in 15 seconds in the final minute for the 5-3 halftime lead.

Third Quarter – Syracuse 8, James Madison 5
Syracuse scored the first two goals, but strikes from Peterson and Tai Jankowski cut the lead to three both times. JMU put five of six shots on goal in the quarter and evened things out on the draw, 3-3.

Fourth Quarter – Syracuse 13, James Madison 7
After Syracuse grabbed the first two goals of the period, Olivia Mattis and Maddie Epke scored from the free position to prevent extended runs, but the Orange finished with the final two goals of the game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Peterson finished with 91 goals for the season, the first 90-goal scorer in program history and reached 90 draw controls for the second straight year.

• JMU’s defense held Syracuse below its season scoring average of 16.7, with the 13 goals marking the third-fewest the Orange have scored this season.

• JMU was out-shot 30-21 and out-drawn 15-9, but evened out the draw numbers 7-7 in the second half.

• Syracuse won the ground ball battle 24-12.

• The Dukes were efficient on the clear, going 22-for-23 (95.7%).

RECORDS AND MILESTONES
• Mairead Durkin finished with 47 caused turnovers for the season, tied for second-highest in program history and just five short of her 2022 single-season record.

— JMU Athletics —