Liberty University
1-4
James Madison
6-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Madison | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| Liberty | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Strong Second Half Lifts No. 8 JMU to 13-5 Win Over Liberty
3/8/2023 8:55:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
No. 8 James Madison outscored Liberty 8-1 over the final 30 minutes on the way to a 13-5 triumph, Wednesday evening at the Liberty Lacrosse Field.
The Dukes improve to 6-1 on the year, and the Lady Flames fall to 1-4. JMU was Liberty's second top-10 opponent of the season and fourth top-25 foe in only five games.
Liberty goalkeeper Mara Tellers tallied a career-high 11 saves in the contest.
Scoring Summary
Liberty Goals: Jordan Sheive 2, Cami Merkel 1, Lizzy Ferguson 1, Kelly Scott 1
Liberty Assists: Mackenzie Lehman 2, Tori Banks 1, Jordan Sheive 1
James Madison Goals: Isabella Peterson 5, Tai Jankowski 2, Maddie Epke 2, Lizzy Fox 2, Savannah Derey 1, Lilly Boswell 1
James Madison Assists: Katelyn Morgan 4, Isabella Peterson 2, Kat Buchanan 1, Savannah Derey 1, Tai Jankowski 1, Brianna Mennella 1
Goalkeepers
W: Kat Buchanan 6-1, six saves
L: Mara Tellers 1-4, 11 saves
Turning Point
James Madison took control of the game midway through the third quarter. With a 6-5 lead, the Dukes' Tai Jankowski and Isabella Peterson each found the net twice during the final 11:02 of the period, putting the guests ahead 10-5 through three quarters.
JMU and Liberty both did not score a goal for the first 11:47 of the fourth frame until Peterson scored her game-high fifth goal at the 3:13 mark, followed by markers from Lilly Boswell and Savannah Derey to close out the contest.Â
First Half Summary
• Liberty and JMU played to a 2-2 tie through 15 minutes of action. Neither team got on the board until Isabella Peterson of the Dukes scored the first goal of the day at the 8:05 mark. The Lady Flames answered with back-to-back goals at the 5:24 and 1:48, scored by Kelly Scott and Cami Merkel, to take a 2-1 lead. JMU's Maddie Epke countered with a goal with two seconds left on the clock in the opening frame to knot it at 2-all.
• The Dukes gained a little separation in the second quarter with goals from Peterson (11:03 mark) and Epke (8:41 mark), but Liberty responded with tallies from Jordan Sheive (7:33 mark) and Lizzy Ferguson (6:17 mark) during a 76-second span to even the contest back up at 4-4. JMU's Lizzy Fox found the back of the cage with 2:41 remaining in the opening stanza, sending the visitors into the break with a 5-4 edge.Â
Second Half Summary
• Fox delivered the opening goal of the half just 35 seconds in. Liberty's Sheive countered with her second tally of the day, as she was the only Lady Flame to score multiple goals in the contest.
• JMU scored seven unanswered goals, four more in the third quarter and three in the fourth, to secure the 13-5 victory. The Dukes' defense held Liberty without a goal for the final 18:13 of regulation.
Key Stats & Notes
• James Madison held edges in shots (36-18), draw controls (14-8), caused turnovers (14-6) and ground balls (18-17). The Dukes converted on 18-of-20 clears (90 percent), while Liberty was 80 percent (20-of-25) on clearing chance.
• Liberty held JMU to only 28.6 percent (2-of-7) on free-position shots. The Dukes entered the night converting 43.5 percent of their free-position attempts.
• Mackenzie Lehman led all players with four ground balls. The Liberty junior added a team-best two assists and three draw controls.
• Tellers' 11 saves are the most for a Liberty goalkeeper in a game since Jennifer Soriero made 15 stops against No. 20 Jacksonville in the 2022 ASUN Championship title game (May 7, 2022).
• The Lady Flames fall to 0-4 against top-25 teams in 2023 and 0-2 against top-10 squads.
• Liberty falls to 0-4 all-time against JMU. The Lady Flames are still in search of their first ranked win in program history.
Up Next
• Liberty will begin its Spring Break trip at Pitt (3-3), next Tuesday. First draw between the Lady Flames and Panthers is set for 4 p.m. at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• This will be the first-ever meeting in lacrosse between Liberty and Pitt.
