Lacrosse Takes Regular-Season Championship With Win at Drexel

Saturday, April 30

Philadelphia, Pa.

12 p.m.

James Madison University

13-4, 6-0CAA

Drexel

10-7, 4-2CAA

James Madison

Drexel

Lacrosse Takes Regular-Season Championship With Win at Drexel

4/30/2022 4:24:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – No. 11 James Madison lacrosse finished off an undefeated conference regular-season slate with an 18-12 win over Drexel at Vidas Field on Saturday.

The Dukes improved to 13-4 (6-0) and finished the regular season on a 10-game win streak. Drexel fell to 10-7 overall and 4-2 in league play.

JMU was led by redshirt sophomore Isabella Peterson who had five goals on 11 shots and grabbed eight draw controls. Senior Ava Frantz netted a career-high four goals, all coming in the fourth quarter. Peterson, Frantz, Taylor Marchetti and Kacey Knobloch each had hat tricks, the first time this season four JMU players have scored at least three goals in the same game.

After being down 5-1 in the first quarter, JMU stormed back to outscore Drexel 17-7 in the final 49:47 of the game. The four-goal comeback was the Dukes' biggest of the season.

With the win, JMU has secured its first outright regular-season league title since 2019.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – Drexel 5, James Madison 3
Drexel scored on their first five shots on goal to take a 5-1 lead at the 5:38 mark. Goals by Marchetti and Peterson pushed the Dukes within two.

Second Quarter – James Madison 7, Drexel 6
The Dragons held a 6-3 advantage until JMU scored four times in a span of 4:30 to grab the 7-6 halftime lead. Redshirt junior Rachel Matey netted the second goal of the run, her first goal since Feb. 12 against North Carolina. JMU shut-out Drexel in the circle, winning all six controls in the quarter.

Third Quarter – James Madison 12, Drexel 10
After Drexel tied things early, JMU went on a 5-0 scoring run in just 3:42 to take a 12-7 lead. Drexel responded with three goals in 2:42 before the end of the period. The Dukes grabbed another seven draws in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 18, Drexel 12
The final quarter was dominated by Frantz who scored the first two goals 35 seconds apart before netting JMU's final two tallies of the game. Goalkeeper Molly Dougherty made three saves in the period to keep Drexel from a comeback attempt.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

JMU has its first 10-game win streak since winning 14 in a row to finish the 2018 season.
The Dukes finished with 23 draw controls, most in a game since April 23, 2021. After being outdrawn 5-4 in the first quarter, JMU outdrew Drexel 19-6 in the final three.
After Drexel goalkeeper Zoe Bennett made seven first-half saves, JMU did not allow a save from Bennett in the entire second half. Her .280 save percentage was her lowest of the season while JMU's 18 goals were the most allowed by Bennett.
With a 2-for-2 free-position effort, JMU has shot 14-for-19 (.736) from the eight-meter in its last four games.
The Dukes put 25 shots on goal for the fifth time in their last six games after not having done so in any of their first 11.
Peterson had her eighth game of the season with at least five goals.
Redshirt junior Katie Checkosky dished five assists for the third time in 2022 and has at least three helpers in five of JMU's last six games.

RECORD WATCH

Peterson is up to 68 goals in 2022 which ranks third all-time in a single season. She is 13 behind Gail Decker for the all-time single-season record.
With Peterson's eight draw controls and Matey's seven on Saturday, both sit at 92 for the season which is third in program history.
A pair of milestones were reached on Saturday as Dougherty made her 600th career save, becoming the third player to achieve that mark while Checkosky became the fourth Duke to reach 100 career assists. Checkosky also reached 41 assists for the season, moving into a tie for fourth with Megan Riley in 1999.
JMU has 118 assists as a team, currently fourth-most all-time and 38 away from the 2018 program record.

UP NEXT
JMU will learn its postseason draw in the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Sunday, May 8. The selection show will air on ESPNU at 9 p.m that day. First round games will be held on Friday, May 13 and will be broadcast on ESPN+.