Dukes Capture First AAC Title, Run Away from Bulls 18-9

Saturday, May 3

Norfolk, Va.

Noon

James Madison University

13-5

South Florida

14-4

USF

JMU

5/3/2025 4:41:00 PM | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

NORFOLK, Va – No. 1 James Madison lacrosse limited a South Florida offense averaging 16 goals a game to just nine, and eight Dukes scored goals to win its first American Athletic Conference Championship, 18-9, on Saturday afternoon at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.

Maddie Epke led all scorers with six goals on eight shots, while winning 10 draw controls, earning her Most Outstanding Player in the tournament. Brianna Mennella recorded a natural hat trick, while Savannah Derey, Olivia Matthews, and Lauren Savage each netted a pair of goals. Payton Root provided a pair of helpers, her eighth game of the season with two or more assists.

Adanya Moyer made her 14th start in the cage for JMU (14-4, 6-0 AAC) and made 12 saves on 27 shots faced for a .571 save percentage. Olivia Rongo led the defensive effort with two caused turnovers while Maddie Weybrecht picked up three ground balls.

South Florida (13-5, 4-2 AAC) was paced by Maggie Newton with four goals. Paige Pagano made the start in the cage and recorded nine saves while allowing 18 goals.

JMU held advantages in shots (32-27), draw controls (18-11), and turnovers (14-16) while causing 10 turnovers to USF's four.

How it Happened
First Quarter – James Madison 5, South Florida 3

The Dukes got off to a fast start, with Clark and Epke helping JMU to an early 3-0 lead while the defense held USF without a shot until the 8:29 mark of the first.
The Bulls answered with a quick 3-0 run of their own, taking advantage of turnovers in the midfield to tie things up with 6:10 to go in the first.
JMU responded with back-to-back goals from Mennella in a span of 49 seconds to lead 5-3 after one.

Second Quarter – James Madison 10, South Florida 5

Scoring hesitated to begin the second stanza, before Epke and Derey netted scores to push JMU's lead back to four at 7-3 at the 10:55 mark.
South Florida countered with another score, but JMU would close the first half on a 3-1 run, including a shot by Josie Pell with 0.6 seconds left on the clock to make it 10-5 at the half.

Third Quarter – James Madison 14, South Florida 8

The Bulls came out aggressively in the third frame, scoring two goals to make it 10-7 at the 9:29 mark.
Epke then sparked a 4-0 Dukes run as they grew the lead to 14-7 with 2:38 to go in the period following a Savage goal. The Bulls would score on more in the quarter to trail 14-8 after three.

Fourth Quarter – James Madison 18, South Florida 9

JMU began the final frame causing two takeaways, with the Bulls getting their final score of the contest at the 8:45 mark of the period.
The Dukes would continue to lock in defensively. Moyer made five saves in the period which JMU turned it into more offense, as the Dukes coasted to the finish line for the win.

Game notes

Epke continued her scoring streak to 37 games, as she recorded her tenth game of the season with at least three goals.
Joining Epke on the All-Tournament Team are Savannah Derey, Reese Cuviello, Maddie Weybrecht, Brianna Mennella, Olivia Matthews, and Adanya Moyer.
The Dukes recorded four scoring runs of 3-0 or more in the contest and improved its record to 14-1 when doing so. JMU also improved its record to 8-0 when scoring 18 or more goals and 10-0 when allowing under ten goals.
Moyer recorded a save percentage of .500 or better for the ninth time this season.
JMU is the only team to hold South Florida under ten goals this season, as it held the Bulls to just six in their first meeting and nine this afternoon.
With the win, the Dukes earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will make their 10th straight appearance in the dance. It is JMU's 14th conference tournament championship in program history.

Up next
JMU awaits its first-round opponent in the NCAA Tournament and will find out during the Selection Show on Sunday, May 4th at 9 p.m., which can be viewed on ESPNU.