No. 4 James Madison and East Carolina remained unbeaten in American Athletic Conference play Saturday, while No. 9 Florida won a key road game as the battle intensifies for the four spots in the conference tournament.
The Dukes rolled to decisive win against Vanderbilt to win their 13th consecutive game. The Pirates pulled away from Cincinnati to remain a half-game behind James Madison in the conference standings, while Gators held off Temple to improve to 2-1 in conference play.
NO. 4 JAMES MADISON 18, VANDERBILT 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 4 James Madison lacrosse grabbed the lead and quickly ran away from Vanderbilt, winning an 18-1 decision against the Commodores at the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex in Nashville on Saturday.
JMU won its 13th consecutive game to improve to 13-1 (4-0) while Vanderbilt fell to 3-9 (1-3).
Redshirt junior Isabella Peterson, senior Tai Jankowski, junior Katelyn Morgan and sophomore Savannah Derey each marked hat tricks for the Dukes, with Peterson leading the way with five goals to go with a game-high six draw controls. The 18 goals marks JMU’s third-most this season and most in American Athletic Conference play and the Dukes did so on a 51.4% shooting mark from the field.
The defense allowed just 13 total shots and held its first opponent to one goal since Wofford on March 12, 2021. Individually, redshirt senior Rachel Matey picked up four ground balls, caused two turnovers and added five draw controls to her total. From the midfield, redshirt senior Lizzy Fox caused four turnovers and added two ground balls defensively.
Nancy Halleron scored Vanderbilt’s lone goal while goalkeeper Paige Gunning made six saves in three quarters.
The Dukes won their 13th straight conference game dating back to the 2021 season.
Four Dukes had hat tricks in a game for the first time since April 30, 2022 at Drexel.
JMU caused 15 turnovers as a team on Saturday, second-most this year. The 13 shots allowed were the fewest in a game this season.
EAST CAROLINA 18, CINCINNATI 8
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina lacrosse team defeated conference foe Cincinnati, 18-8, on a cold and rainy afternoon on Saturday in Johnson Stadium. The Pirates used a nine-goal fourth quarter to blow the game open after leading narrowly through three periods.
It wasn't always pretty for ECU (10-3, 3-0 AAC), but the Pirates weathered the storm - literally and figuratively - and despite Cincinnati (9-5, 2-2 AAC) drawing as close as one, were able to blow the game right back open with that dominant final period.
Seven ECU players scored in the final 15 minutes and the team used an 8-3 margin on draw controls in the fourth to balloon the lead. Nine goals equalled the most in a quarter in program history, tying the nine first-quarter goals against Presbyterian in 2022.
The Pirates got off to a hot start, actually. A 5-1 lead through 15 minutes gave the game the looks of a blowout, but Cincinnati drew back into it. The Bearcats used a 6-4 run over the next 30 minutes to make it a legitimate game. Camryn Callaghan scored a hat trick for Cincinnati but the scoring went dry in the end as the team only mustered a single goal in the final 15 minutes.
Brynn Knight was superb in goal once again for ECU with nine saves and just eight goals allowed. Conversely, the Pirates put away 18 of their 22 shots on goal, continuing to be one of the most accurate shooting teams in America.
Frances Kimel had four goals and an assist in the game en route to breaking the program's single season points record - she now sits at 62 on the year - while Camryn Pennypacker added four goals of her own and Emily Stratton registered a hat trick.
Of particular note Saturday, East Carolina has their first 10-win season in program history and moves to 3-0 in AAC play, in full command of their destiny.
NO. 9 FLORIDA 17, TEMPLE 13
PHILADELPHIA – The ninth-ranked Florida lacrosse team put another tally in the win column on Saturday afternoon after defeating conference foe Temple 17-13 in a back-and-forth battle.
The Gators – winners of four-straight – improve to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in the AAC, while Temple drops to 5-7 on the year and 0-3 in league play.
Florida was led on the offensive front by Emma LoPinto and Emily Heller, who each posted five goals in the matchup. That mark was a career-high for Heller and a season-high for LoPinto.
Maggi Hall followed with four goals of her own, while Danielle Pavinelli (2) and Madison Waters (1) combined for three goals.
Three Gators finished the game with multiple assists: Kaitlyn Davies (2), Hall (2) and LoPinto (2). Ashley Gonzalez also dished out one helper on the afternoon.
The Gators won 18-of-31 draw controls in the victory, with Emily Diaz posting a team-high six. Liz Harrison followed with five of her own, while Paisley Eagan and Davies each tallied two in the game.
Florida held Temple to 13-of-38 shooting on the day (.342). Theresa Bragg and Pavinelli each registered one caused turnover in the win.
Sarah Reznick had a team-leading three groundballs on the afternoon, followed by two apiece from Josie Hahn and Emily Heller.
In the cage, Sarah Reznick tallied 14 saves on the afternoon, finishing the game with a .519 save percentage.
The Gators are back in action on Wednesday as the team travels to Lynchburg, Va. to take on the Liberty Flames. Opening draw is slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.