PHILADELPHIA (JMU Athletics) – #14 James Madison lacrosse led wire-to-wire and commanded all aspects of play in an 18-4 victory over Temple at Howarth Field on Saturday afternoon.

Maddie Epke led all players with 15 draw controls and a career-high eight goals. Savannah Derey netted four goals for JMU (9-4, 4-0 AAC), while Olivia Mattis recorded a pair of goals. Defensively, Josie Pell caused two turnovers while Olivia Rongo, Ava Main, and Reese Cuviello tallied two ground balls each. Payton Root provided two assists, her fourth game this season with two or more helpers.

Adanya Moyer made her ninth start in the cage and recorded three saves in just under forty minutes of action. Caitlin Boden, Abigail Beattie, and Emily Evans handled the last twenty minutes without conceding a goal. The total goalie effort also limited Temple to 0-of-4 from free-position opportunities.

JMU hit season-highs in shots (46) while allowing a season-low-tying 12 shots from Temple. The Dukes won the ground ball (15-12) and draw control (19-7) battle, allowing ten or fewer draws for the sixth time this season.

Temple (2-11, 0-4 AAC) was paced by Erin King with a pair of goals. Taylor Grollman made the start in the cage for the Owls, making eight saves while conceding 13 goals in 41 minutes. Colleen Beradino finished the contests with four saves and five goals allowed.

How it Happened
First Quarter – James Madison 9, Temple 1
• JMU wasted no time entering the scoring column with a goal from Epke in the opening 30 ticks. Maggie Clark followed with another score just over a minute later at the 13:24 mark of the first.
• Scoring stalled until the midway point of the quarter as each team coughed up turnovers, before Derey scored to spark a handful of six goals over a four-minute span. Temple netted just one goal in the quarter as JMU led 9-1 after one, its most goals in a quarter this season.

Second Quarter – James Madison 12, Temple 2
• JMU won the draw battle 5-0 in the second stanza, limiting Temple to just two shots and one goal in the period.
• Epke netted scores at the start and end of the period, with Mattis recording one to make it 12-2 JMU at halftime.

Third Quarter – James Madison 13, Temple 4
• Tempo slowed for both sides in the third, with just three goals total and five turnovers for each team in the period.
• Temple capitalized on a JMU turnover to begin for a score, and held the Dukes to just one goal in the period, but only managed one more score themselves as JMU maintained a comfortable advantage.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 18, Temple 4
• JMU held Temple without a score in the final frame while scoring five and cruising to the finish line for the win.

Game notes
• Epke’s career-high in goals continued her scoring streak to 32 games. The junior also inched closer to breaking her own and JMU single-season draw control record of 178, as she reached 165 for the season in the contest. Epke currently stands first in the country in draw controls per game (12.69).
• Two Dukes moved up in statistical program rankings: Caitlin Boden is now tied for 15th in career saves with 193, and Maddie Epke is now tied for 10th in career assists with 66 and 14th in career points with 186.
• JMU improved its record to 6-1 in games outside of Harrisonburg this season.
• The Dukes recorded two scoring runs of 3-0 in the contest, and improved its record to 9-1 when doing so.

Up next
JMU will return to Sentara Park next week on Wednesday, April 16 as it welcomes Liberty in the non-conference finale. Opening draw is set for 6 p.m.

— JMU Athletics —