Dukes Fall to Gators in Gainesville, 15-7

Saturday, April 13

Gainesville, Fla.

11:30 a.m.

James Madison University

10-4

Florida

13-2

James Madison

Florida

4/13/2024 2:23:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 14 James Madison lacrosse fell to No. 9 Florida in a 15-7 defeat on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, Florida.

The Dukes (10-4, 3-1) were handed their first American Athletic Conference loss of the season as the Gators (13-2, 4-0) used a 7-0 run over the final two quarters to propel themselves to the win after a back-and-forth battle in the first half.

Senior attacker Isabella Peterson led the scoring efforts for the Dukes with four goals, while sophomore attacker Maddie Epke, senior attacker Katelyn Morgan and freshman attacker Emily Simkin each notched one. Epke and Morgan each tallied an assist and sophomore midfielder Brianna Mennella also added a helper.

Senior defender Lizzy Pirisino led the defensive side of the ball for JMU with two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Freshman defender Maddie Weybrecht scooped up a ground ball and caused two turnovers while sophomore goalkeeper Caitlin Boden came up with a career-high three ground balls for the Dukes.

Boden made 13 saves on 28 shots faced, with seven of her 13 saves occurring in the second quarter. She allowed 15 goals and posted a .464 save percentage for the Dukes. Elyse Finnelle made 12 saves on 19 shots faced, allowing seven goals and amassing a .632 save percentage for UF.

Danielle Pavinelli led the Florida offense with two goals and three assists while Maggi Hall controlled all sides of the ball for the Gators as she racked up two goals, two assists, five ground balls and a caused turnover.

The Dukes edged the Gators in the draw circle by a 13-12 margin as Epke collected six and Peterson added five, but UF outshot JMU 37-27 and scooped up 14 ground balls to the Dukes' nine.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – Florida 2, James Madison 1
The Gators were on the board first with a goal from Pavinelli followed by a score from Peterson to tie the game at one. Florida notched one more from Josie Hahn with 4:05 to play in the first, but both defenses held strong for the remaining minutes.

Second Quarter – James Madison 4, Florida 4
Seven saves from Boden were the name of the game in the second frame. The Dukes and Gators went back-and-forth scoring, with goals from Peterson, Gianna Monaco, Simkin and Pavinelli. Epke found the back of the net for the final goal of the period, tying game for the fourth time of the day heading into the break.

Third Quarter – Florida 8, James Madison 6
Hall scored the first goal of the half to give the Gators their fifth one goal lead of the day. Morgan found the back of the net followed by a Peterson goal to give the Dukes their first lead of the day with 12:31 to go in the quarter. A 3-0 UF run gave them the lead back going into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter – Florida 15, James Madison 7
Florida continued their third-quarter scoring run with four consecutive goals, extending their run to 7-0. Peterson netted her fourth of the day, but the Gators continued to dominate the final frame with a 2-0 run to end the matchup.

GAME NOTES

Florida now leads James Madison 3-2 in the all-time series.
The Dukes saw their 18-game win streak over conference opponents in the regular season come to an end with Saturday's loss to the Gators. Their last prior loss was a 6-5 defeat to Elon on March 7, 2021.
Epke now holds sole possession of the JMU single-season draw control record with 133.
Peterson notched her 50th goal of the season as she now has 52 across her 13 games played.
Weybrecht's two caused turnovers were a career high as she previously recorded one in two different outings.

UP NEXT
The No. 14 Dukes (10-4, 3-1) will close out their 2024 home slate on Saturday, April 20 when they face off against AAC opponent Vanderbilt (7-6, 1-2). Opening draw is set for noon and will be streamed on ESPN+.