Lacrosse Sets Program Record with 15th Consecutive Victory

Sunday, April 23

Piscataway, N.J.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

15-1, 5-0

Rutgers

7-8, 1-5

James Madison

Rutgers

Lacrosse Sets Program Record with 15th Consecutive Victory

4/23/2023 4:34:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – James Madison lacrosse has broken its program record for longest winning streak, winning its 15th consecutive game with a 14-7 victory against Rutgers at SHI Stadium on Sunday.

The 15th straight win improves No. 4 JMU to a 15-1 mark this season while Rutgers closed its regular season schedule at 7-8. The streak surpasses the 14 consecutive wins set by the 2018 team.

Senior and New Jersey native Tai Jankowski led the offense for the Dukes with a career-high five goals on seven shots for her third consecutive hat trick and ninth overall this season. Redshirt junior Isabella Peterson scored four times for her 13th hat trick of the yesar. Freshman Maddie Epke dished two of JMU's five assists to go with a game-high seven draw controls.

Redshirt senior Mairead Durkin caused three turnovers to reach 128 for her career, breaking Emma Johnson's all-time program record of 126. Six other Dukes had a caused turnover on the day and four players also had multiple ground balls. JMU held its 13th opponent to single-digit scoring, backstopped by Kat Buchanan's nine saves on a .563 save percentage.

Cassidy Spilis and Marin Hartshorn each scored twice for Rutgers, with Hartshorn adding two assists for a four-point afternoon. Goalkeeper Sophia Cardello made eight saves with six in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – James Madison 3, Rutgers 3
JMU jumped out to a 3-0 lead with goals from three different sticks, but Rutgers responded with three straight in 3:05 to close the quarter's scoring. RU held a 13-6 shots advantage in the quarter, with Buchanan's four saves keeping the Scarlet Knights out of the lead.

Second Quarter – James Madison 8, Rutgers 4
Jankowski scored twice to complete her hat trick during a 5-0 JMU run that spanned 7:22. The Dukes out-shot the Scarlet Knights 11-5 in the quarter, as a Rutgers goal with a minute to play marked the only blemish. The Dukes won the ground ball battle 4-1 in the period.

Third Quarter – James Madison 12, Rutgers 6
Rutgers closed to within two at the 11:26 mark, but Taylor Marchetti broke the Rutgers run with a woman-up goal before Jankowski extended the lead back to four. Peterson then scored twice in 1:06 to close the scoring.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 14, Rutgers 7
Marchetti and Jankowski wrapped up the scoring for JMU, extending the lead to JMU's biggest margin at eight. The Dukes grabbed all four draw controls in the quarter.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The 15 consecutive wins is tied for the second-longest active streak in Division I with Northwestern, just one win behind undefeated Denver (16-0).
Sunday's win marked the first time ever JMU has won four games against the Big Ten in a season.
JMU never trailed for its third consecutive game and has trailed for just 37 seconds in its last six games.
After being out-shot 13-6 in the first quarter, the Dukes out-shot the Scarlet Knights 26-14 in the final three quarters.
The Dukes won the draw control battle for the fifth straight game, winning 17-8 in that category with four players each coming up with at least three draws.

RECORDS AND MILESTONES

Peterson now sits six goals away from sole possession of the all-time goals record, currently held by Gail Decker.
The 2023 Dukes are tied for sixth all-time with the 2014 and 2015 teams with 113 total assists.
Adding three goals to its total, JMU's 42 free-position goals as a team sit ninth in program history.

UP NEXT
The Dukes are on the road for the final game of the regular season on Saturday, April 29 at East Carolina at noon, which will be streamed on ESPN+. The Dukes will win The American regular season title outright with a victory, having already clinched a share on April 16.