Dukes Face Off with Penn State in NCAA Championship First Round - James Madison University Athletics (2024)

HARRISONBURG, Va. –No. 19 James Madison lacrosse is set to take on No. 15 Penn State in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship on Friday, May 10 at 3 p.m. in College Park, Md.

Scouting the Dukes

• JMU is playing in its ninth consecutive NCAA Championship. The Dukes have played in every single NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship since 2015, holding a 9-7 record in that span.
• The Dukes are coming off of a 21-11 loss to then-No. 9 Florida in the American Athletic Conference Championship finals on Saturday, in which the Gators were the No. 1 seed and the Dukes were the No. 2 seed.
• Senior attackersKatelyn MorganandIsabella Petersonlead the Dukes' offense side of the ball. Peterson leads the team in goals (68), points (78), shots (135) and shots on goal (103), while Morgan leads the Dukes in assists (32).
• Sophom*ore attackerMaddie Epkeleads the draw circle for JMU, having collected 171 draw controls on the season.
• Freshman defenderAva Bleckleyleads the defensive side of the ball for the Dukes with 34 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers. Senior defendersNicholle MarshallandLizzy Pirisinofollow close behind as Marshall has secured 30 ground balls and caused 25 turnovers and Pirisino has collected 23 ground balls and recorded a team-high 30 caused turnovers.
• Sophom*ore goalkeeperCaitlin Bodenhas made 143 saves on 454 shots faced, allowing 187 goals and posting a .433 save percentage.

Scouting the Nittany Lions

• No. 2 seed Penn State took on No. 1 seed Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament finals where they lost to the No. 1 ranked team in the country 14-12 on Saturday evening.
• Midfielder Kristin O'Neill and attacker Gretchen Gilmore lead the team in points with 52 and 50, respectively. Midfielder Kayla Abernathy leads the draw circle with 73 draw controls.
• Defenders Ellie Hollin and Rachel Spilker lead the defensive stats, as Hollin has secured 20 ground balls and caused 20 turnovers while Spilker has collected 16 ground balls and caused 22 turnovers.
• Goalkeeper Sydney Manning has made 100 saves on 353 shots faced, allowing 148 goals and posting a .403 save percentage. She leads the team with 24 ground balls.

All-Time Series

• Friday will be the 37th all-time meeting between JMU and Penn State. The Nittany Lions currently lead the all-time series 22-14 and won the most recent matchup.
• This is going to be the third matchup between the Dukes and Nittany Lions in the NCAA Championship but first on a neutral field.
• Penn State is 2-0 vs. JMU in NCAA Championships, with their wins occurring in 1995 and 2007 – both at University Park, Pa.
• In the last outing between the teams, PSU bested JMU 14-10 on March 9, 2022 at University Park, Pa.

What's at Stake

• The Dukes can win their 17th NCAA Championship tournament game overall and win a game in their 13th different tournament.
• JMU will attempt to win a game in four consecutive NCAA Championship appearances for the first time since winning a game in each appearance from 1997-2001.
• A win would be the 11th tournament win overall under Head Coach Shelley Klaes and the 10th in the current run of nine consecutive NCAA Championship appearances.

Awards from the American

• Freshman defender Ava Bleckley was unanimously selected as the AAC Freshman of the Year on May 1. She recorded 25 caused turnovers, 27 draw controls and a team-high 31 ground balls in the regular season while bringing home two AAC Defensive Player of the Week and six AAC Freshman of the Week awards.
• Attackers Maddie Epke and Isabella Peterson as well as Bleckley were unanimously selected to the First Team All-Conference. Attacker Katelyn Morgan was also named to the First Team.
• Attacker Kacey Knobloch, midfielder Taylor Marchetti, defender Lizzy Pirisino and goalkeeper Caitlin Boden were named to the Second Team All-Conference.
• In addition to the Dukes' postseason awards, they racked up a total of 26 American Athletic Conference weekly awards across the regular season.

Dukes in the Rankings

• JMU lacrosse is ranked in the top 25 nationally in 11 statistical categories. The Dukes are ranked ninth in shots per game (33.78) and shots on goal per game (25.39), 11th in draw controls per game (17.44), free position percentage (.554) and scoring offense (15.61), 14th in points per game (22.22), 18th in scoring margin (4.22), 19th in win percentage (.722), 21st in draw control percentage (.577), 22nd in caused turnovers per game (9.83) and 25th in shot percentage (.462).
• Epke is ranked sixth in the nation in draw controls per game (9.50).
• Peterson is ranked eighth in the nation in goals (68), goals per game (4.00) and shots on goal per game (6.06), 12th in shots per game (7.94) and 25th in points per game (4.59).

What's Next

• The winner will take on the winner of No. 13 Maryland and Robert Morris on Sunday, May 12 at 12:30 p.m. in College Park, Md.