HARRISONBURG, Va. –
Alice Roeper netted a pair of goals to lift the James Madison field hockey past Towson in a 3-1 home-opening victory on Friday evening at the JMU Field Hockey Complex.
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The Dukes (4-2) limited the Tigers (2-3) to two shots on goal, while Towson faced nine JMU penalty corners.
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Roeper's offensive showing marked her second consecutive multi-goal game of the season and the fifth of her career.
Madelief Molier scored the Dukes' final goal of the day with a feed from
Azul Covarrubias. Goalkeeper
Molly Schreiner registered one save to earn the 14th win of her career.
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Towson's Olivia Miller found the back of the net with an assist from Ella Kaufman. Tessa Scheenstra turned in a seven-save performance as the Tigers' defense denied eight of JMU's nine corners.
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Quoting Head Coach Christy Morgan
"Super happy for the win, but excited to make changes for Sunday against No. 3 Virginia. We have to make those changes – so we'll come out tomorrow to fix some things so we can be ready."
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How It Happened
- After a defensive battle in the first, Roeper opened the scoring, dribbling through the defense and finding the back of the net with a back-handed shot at the 5:20 mark of the second.
- JMU earned a penalty corner with three seconds remaining in the half, leading to a shot from the top of the circle from Maddie Tierney that was saved and collected by Roeper, who tapped it in to make it 2-0 at the break.
- Towson responded a little over one minute into the third as Ella Kaufman's shot found the stick of Olivia Miller, who pushed it through to make it a 2-1 game.
- Early in the fourth, Tierney intercepted a pass at midfield and connected with Covarrubias near the sideline, who then dished it to a cutting Molier for the near-side goal.
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Game Notes
- James Madison held an advantage in shots (16-7), shots on goal (10-2) and penalty corners (9-2).
- The Dukes have won six consecutive home openers and 10 of their last 12.
- JMU has won 28-straight contests against the Tigers and is 28-1 in the all-time series, dating back to 1976.
- Roeper's performance gives her two game-winning goals this season and nine in her career.
- With her third score of the season, Molier has matched her goal total from 2024. Additionally, Covarrubias' assist was the second of her junior campaign – tying the amount of helpers she produced  last season.
- The game featured four yellow cards and three green cards.
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Up Next
JMU will go over the mountain to take on No. 3 Virginia on Sunday, Sept. 14. Game time at Turf Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+ via ACCNX.