No. 3 Dukes Drop 20 Goals on Towson, Move to 4-0

Thursday, February 22

Harrisonburg, Va.

5 p.m.

James Madison University

4-0

Towson

1-2

TOWSON

James Madison

2/22/2024 9:53:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Third-ranked James Madison posted its second double-digit win of the season and scored its most goals in the history of the series with Towson in a 20-10 non-conference women's lacrosse victory on Thursday night at Sentara Park.

The Dukes (4-0) had three players with hat tricks for the fourth consecutive game and nine goal scorers in total to turn in its first 20-goal game in the 48-game series with the Tigers (1-2). JMU won for the seventh straight time against Towson and has now won 10 of 11 dating back to 2015.

The 20-goal outburst bested the previous series record of 19, which JMU recorded in a 19-8 road win at Towson back on April 1, 1995.

Isabella Peterson led all scorers with four goals and an assist, while Taylor Marchetti scored four goals. Savannah Derey posted her third career hat trick, while Katelyn Morgan had four points off two goals and a pair of assists.

Other offensive leaders included Kacey Knobloch and Brianna Mennella, who each had two goals and one assist, while Maddie Epke added a goal and pair of assists in the win.

Nicholle Marshall, Alex Pirisino and Courtney Quirk led the charge for the Dukes' defense. Marshall secured three ground balls and caused two turnovers, Pirisino recorded three ground balls and caused one turnover while Quirk notched a ground ball and caused a team-high three turnovers.

Caitlin Boden recorded nine saves on 26 shots faced, allowing just 10 goals. She posted a .474 save percentage in tonight's outing.

Towson was paced by three goals from Hannah Delahaye, while Lindsay Marshall had two goals and an assist. Also scoring twice were both Milana Zizakovic and Katie Roszko.

JMU dominated the draw circle and offensive possession, outshooting Towson by a 39-23 margin and winning the battle in the circle by a 24-9 margin.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – JMU 5, Towson 3
JMU opened the game with three goals by three different scorers in the first 2:45, as Peterson led the charge with one goal and one assist through the opening possessions. Towson trimmed the lead to 3-2 with 8:11 to play in the period off goals Zizakovic. Peterson would score twice more for a first-period hat trick, giving JMU a 5-3 lead.

Second Quarter – JMU 12, Towson 5
Goals by Knobloch and Peterson in the opening 61 seconds of the period gave way to JMU creating a 7-0 run to bridge the first and second for an 11-3 lead with 7:56 left in the half. Towson scored twice before a Maggie Clark tally with 14 seconds remaining gave JMU a 12-5 halftime lead.

Third Quarter – JMU 14, Towson 6
Defense was the name of the game in the third period, as the teams combined for just three goals in the third 15-minute stanza. JMU grew the lead to 14-5 off the sticks of Knobloch and Marchetti before a Towson goal by Marshall made it an eight-goal contest going to the fourth.

Fourth Quarter – JMU 20, Towson 10
Towson took advantage of a red card by Peterson, giving the visitors a five-minute, woman-up advantage. In that time, the Tigers struck twice to open the period, as Delahay and Roszko found the back of the cage in just over 1:30. Epke stopped the run with 10:23 to play, sparking a spurt of three straight goals by the Dukes. Towson never drew closer than seven, as JMU ended with another three-goal run in the closing minutes.

GAME NOTES

James Madison now leads Towson 35-13 in the all-time series. This is the seventh consecutive matchup in which the Dukes have bested the Tigers.
JMU's 20 goals are the most it has scored against Towson in the history of the series. The Dukes previously scored 19 goals in a 19-8 victory at Towson on April 1, 1995.
Peterson moved into tied-first in all-time free-position goals in JMU history with 47. She ties Kristen Gaudian's previous record. She also moved into sole possession of the JMU all-time shot record with 470.
Morgan tied Kelly Berger for sixth-most assists in JMU history, notching two in tonight's matchup to make her career total 78.
Knobloch acquired sole possession of 16th-most assists in JMU history with 55.
Epke jumped into the top-20 all-time draw controls in JMU history. She sits at 18th-most with 105 after just 26 games played. She also set a career-high 12 draw controls in tonight's game with her previous being 10 against North Carolina on Feb. 10, 2024.
Freshman defender Ava Bleckley secured a career-high four draw controls with her first-ever draw control occurring in tonight's matchup.
Quirk caused a career-high three turnovers against the Tigers. Her previous career high was two against North Carolina on Feb. 10, 2024.
Marshall tied her career-high three ground balls, having achieved this number five previous times with the last being at Syracuse on May 18, 2023.
Marchetti tied her career-high four goals, previously scoring four against UConn on May 13, 2022.
Alex Pirisino secured three ground balls and recorded a caused turnover, both tying career highs.
Senior attacker Olivia Mattis notched her first assist of the season, tying her career high of one. This is the fourth time in her career she has recorded an assist.
After scoring her first goal of the season, Mennella added another goal and an assist to tie her career-high three points. She previously recorded three against Johns Hopkins on March 11, 2023. Tonight's free-position goal was the first of her career.
Derey posted the third hat trick of her career and tied her career high in points (3) and free-position goals (1).

UP NEXT
JMU (4-0) returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 25 when it hosts Albany (0-4). The opening draw is set for a noon start at Sentara Park, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.