NORFOLK, Virginia – Maddie Epke tied a tournament single-game record with six goals to lead James Madison to its first American Athletic Conference women’s lacrosse title with an 18-9 win against South Florida Saturday afternoon at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.
 
Epke was chosen as the championship’s Most Outstanding Player as she tied the tournament record with nine goals (three in the semifinals, six in the final) and shattered the tournament mark with 23 draw controls in the Dukes’ two wins.
 


James Madison (14-4), which scored its first goal 28 seconds into Saturday’s final, never trailed against the Bulls on their way to clinching an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The Dukes will make their 10th consecutive appearance in the national tournament.
 
Epke scored five of her six goals in the first half to stake James Madison to a 10-5 halftime lead. She scored a free position goal with 1:53 left to put JMU ahead 9-5, and the Dukes scored with five-tenths of a second left in the second quarter as Josie Pell finished a feed from Payton Root to give the Dukes the five-goal cushion into the break.
 
South Florida (13-5), which was looking for a conference title in its first year of varsity Division I competition, was able to close within three to start the second half as Kali Cleary and Maggie Newton scored the first two goals of the third quarter.  But Epke sparked a four-goal run for JMU when she ripped a shot into the cage from the top of the arc midway through the third as the Dukes had a two-player advantage.
 
Olivia Matthews followed less than a minute later with a free position goal to the top-right corner to give the Dukes a 12-7 lead, and Savannah Derey quickly followed with a goal off a restart to make it 13-7 with 6:18 left in the third quarter.
 
South Florida was unable to get closer than six goals of the Dukes the rest of the way as Juliana George’s second goal made it 15-9 midway through the fourth period. James Madison goalie Adanya Moyer made five of her 12 saves in the final 15 minutes to maintain the Dukes’ lead.
 
Epke became the fifth player in championship history to register six goals in a game and the fourth to score nine goals in the tournament. She had six goals, an assist an 10 draw controls against the Bulls and added three goals, two assists and 13 draw controls in JMU’s semifinal win against Vanderbilt. 
 
Brianna Mennella scored three goals for James Madison Saturday to turn in her second hat trick of the tournament on her way to all-tournament honors. She joined Epke, Moyer, Derey, Matthews and defenders Reese Cuviello and Maddie Weybrecht as the Dukes’ all-tournament selections.
 
South Florida was led by Newton, who scored four goals, while George finished with two goals and two assists and goalie Paige Pagano made nine saves. Newton was joined by Cleary, Bailey Morris and Kaitlyn Tartaglione on the all-tournament team.
 
 
2025 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
May 1 and 3 | L.R. Hill Sports Complex | Norfolk, Virginia
 
Semifinals | Thursday, May 1
No. 1 James Madison 16, No. 4 Vanderbilt 6
No. 2 South Florida 14, No. 3 East Carolina 12
 
Final | Saturday, May 3
No. 1 James Madison 18, No. 2 South Florida 9
 
 
All-Tournament Team
Erin Gulden, A, East Carolina
Kali Cleary, M, South Florida
Bailey Morris, M, South Florida
Maggie Newton, A, South Florida
Kaitlyn Tartaglione, M, South Florida
Maddie Epke, A, James Madison
Reese Cuviello, D, James Madison
Savannah Derey, A, James Madison
Olivia Matthews, A, James Madison
Brianna Mennella, A, James Madison
Adanya Moyer, G, James Madison
Maddie Weybrecht, D, James Madison
 
Most Outstanding Player
Maddie Epke, A, James Madison