Dukes Set for Rematch with Maryland in NCAA Championship Second Round

Sunday, May 12

College Park, Md.

12:30 p.m.

James Madison University

Maryland

Tickets

Dukes Set for Rematch with Maryland in NCAA Championship Second Round

5/11/2024 12:03:00 PM | Lacrosse

HARRISONBURG, Va. – No. 19 James Madison lacrosse is set for a rematch with No. 13 Maryland in the second round of the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday, May 12 at 12:30 p.m. in College Park, Md.

James Madison (14-5, 5-1 AAC) vs. Maryland (13-5, 4-2 B1G)
2024 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship Second Round
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Opening Draw: 12:30 PM ET
College Park, Md. | Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex

Game Information
Television: ESPN+
Live Stats
Tickets

Scouting the Dukes

The Dukes are competing in their ninth consecutive NCAA Championship run, having reached the second round in six of their last seven appearances.
JMU will play in its fourth straight second round, having played North Carolina in 2021, Loyola in 2022and Maryland in 2023 and 2024.
The Dukes are coming off of a 14-13 victory to No. 15 Penn State on Friday in the NCAA Championship First Round.
Senior attackers Katelyn Morgan and Isabella Peterson lead the Dukes' offense side of the ball. Peterson leads the team in goals (71), points (84), shots (142) and shots on goal (190), while Morgan leads the Dukes in assists (33).
Sophomore attacker Maddie Epke leads the draw circle for JMU, having collected 175 draw controls on the season.
Freshman defender Ava Bleckley leads the defensive side of the ball for the Dukes with 35 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers. Senior defenders Nicholle Marshall and Lizzy Pirisino follow close behind as Marshall has secured 32 ground balls and caused 27 turnovers and Pirisino has collected 24 ground balls and recorded 30 caused turnovers.
Sophomore goalkeeper Caitlin Boden has made 149 saves on 475 shots faced, allowing 196 goals and posting a .432 save percentage.
Freshman goalkeeper Emily Evans entered the cage for the Dukes in the third quarter on Friday. She made the game winning save with 24 seconds left in play and totaled five saves on ten shots faced, allowing four goals and amassing a .500 save percentage.

Scouting the Terrapins

No. 4 seed Maryland cruised past Robert Morris 17-1 in the NCAA Championship first round on Friday.
Eloise Clevenger and Hannah Leubecker lead the Terrapins' offense with 75 points and 55 points, respectively. Shaylan Ahearn leads the draw circle with 93 draw controls on the season.
Meghan Ball has been in command of the Maryland defense with 35 ground balls and 35 caused turnovers, as well as adding 96 draw controls.
Goalkeeper Emily Sterling has made 160 saves on 423 shots faced, allowing 144 goals and posting a .526 save percentage.

All-Time Series

Sunday will be the 50th all-time meeting between James Madison and Maryland. Maryland leads the series 43-6 and won the most recent matchup, 11-8 on March 10 during the regular season.
This is the second consecutive year in which the Dukes and Terrapins will face off in the NCAA Championship second round. JMU defeated Maryland 15-14 in Harrisonburg on May 14, 2023.

What's at Stake

The Dukes can win their 18th NCAA Championship tournament game with a victory on Sunday.
JMU is looking to make its 10th ever and second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.
A win would be the 12th tournament win overall under Head Coach Shelley Klaes, who currently holds a 11-9 NCAA Championship record as JMU head coach.

Seeing Stars and Stripes

Peterson earned USA Lacrosse Division I Women's All-American First Team honors and Epke was tabbed an Honorable Mention on Thursday.
Peterson's USA Lacrosse All-American nod is the third of the captain's career. In 2023 she was named to the First Team and in 2022 she garnered Honorable Mention.
In addition to her USA Lacrosse First Team All-American honors, the senior was named a Tewaaraton Award nominee for the third time in her career, was unanimously named to the American Athletic Conference First Team All-Conference and earned nine weekly AAC awards.
Epke's first career USA Lacrosse All-American honor comes after a record-breaking season on the Dukes' attack. She now holds the JMU single-season draw control record of 171 and the single-game draw control record of 19, which she set against Richmond on April 3.
The sophomore garnered a plethora of awards this season, including IWLCA Offensive Player of the Week twice, USA Lacrosse Player of the Week, an American Athletic Conference First Team All-Conference unanimous selection as well as four weekly AAC awards. She was also named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List midseason.

Pro Dukes

Peterson was drafted in the 2024 Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse College Draft on Wednesday, receiving an invite to play in the upcoming Athletes Unlimited lacrosse season set to take place this summer.
The attacker was drafted along with 15 other standout college lacrosse graduates and joins JMU alumna Mairead Durkin, Kat Buchanan, Molly Dougherty and Haley Warden as the fifth Duke to play in the league.
Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse is entering its fourth season of play this summer. The league consists of 56 of the best women's professional lacrosse players split into four separate teams playing matches at the USA Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Md. from July 18th through August 11th.
The inaugural team draft will be held prior to the start of the season with weekly drafts occurring after the last match of every week. The four highest point scorers from the previous week are be named team captains and have the opportunity to draft their team for the week.

Dukes in the Rankings

JMU lacrosse is ranked in the top 25 nationally in 10 statistical categories. The Dukes are ranked eighth in shots per game (33.84) and shots on goal per game (25.53), 11th in scoring offense (15.53), 12th in draw controls per game (17.21), 13th in free-position percentage (.547), 14th in points per game (22.05), 15th in win percentage (.737), 17th in scoring margin (4.05), 23rd in draw control percentage (.569) and 24th in caused turnovers per game (9.74).
Epke is ranked sixth in the nation in draw controls per game (9.21).
Peterson is ranked sixth in the nation in goals (71), eighth in shots on goal per game (6.06), ninth in goals per game (3.94), 13th in shots per game (7.89), 21st in points per game (4.67) and 23rd in points (84).

What's Next

The winner will take on the winner of No. 7 Virginia and No. 10 Florida next weekend in the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship quarterfinals.