NASHVILLE – In a rough and tumble game that saw fantastic defense throughout, No. 2 seed James Madison was finally able to break through against a stout backline of No. 3 seed East Carolina in a 9-7 victory in the second semifinal of the 2026 American Conference Women’s Lacrosse Championship on Thursday night at Vanderbilt’s FirstBank Stadium.
JMU (12-6) advanced to the tournament final of the American Championship for the fourth consecutive year in search of a successful title defense. The Dukes will face No. 1 seed South Florida on May 2 at noon CT in a 2025 rematch for the American tournament title.
JMU held a dominant 10-3 shots advantage after the first quarter but only had a one-goal lead to show for it after the first 15 minutes. Scoring plays from Josie Pell and Jordan Peterson bookended an ECU (8-9) goal from Jamie Collender for a 2-1 edge for the Dukes.
The momentum decidedly flipped in ECU’s favor during a competitive second period. Collender added her second of the night with 13:22 remaining in the quarter and assisted on a pair of goals from Katelyn Sclafani to send the Pirates to halftime with a 4-3 lead. JMU maintained the halftime edge in both shots (15-12) and shots on goal (12-7).
JMU again dominated the shot count by an 8-2 margin in the third quarter but still found itself a goal down entering the final period. Sclafani completed the hat trick with 56 seconds remaining in the third to power ECU to a 6-5 advantage.
JMU completed the comeback and raced back into the lead with a flurry in the fourth quarter. After Kayla Wilkes gave ECU a 7-5 lead (10:02), Peterson added a second goal (8:44) before Bre McVicker tallied back-to-back goals with 5:45 and 2:58 remaining to vault the Dukes ahead 8-7. Kaitlyn Carney put the game away with an insurance goal with 56 seconds left in regulation to ice the victory.
Peterson and McVicker each led JMU with two goals on the night, and Olivia Matthews added a goal and an assist for the Dukes. Payton Root also contributed two assists.
Collender’s two goals and three assists led all players in the setback for ECU. Jaime Behar shined in goal for the Pirates with 15 saves after facing 24 total shots on goal.