James Madison Lacrosse defeated East Carolina 16-10 at Sentara Park on March 14 in its American Conference opener.
The win marks the Dukes’ first set of consecutive victories since February and brings their record to 4-4 overall, with a 1-0 start in conference play. The game saw James Madison take an early lead, scoring four goals within the first six minutes and maintaining control throughout the match.
Olivia Matthews led the offense for James Madison with five goals and two assists, achieving her first hat trick of the season during the opening quarter. Payton Root contributed three goals and two assists, while Jordan Peterson and Jolie Schiavo each scored twice. On defense, Reese Cuviello forced four turnovers and collected four ground balls. Olivia Rongo added three caused turnovers and four ground balls, continuing her streak of causing at least three turnovers in five straight games.
Goalkeeper Abigail Beattie started for James Madison, making two saves before Emily Evans took over in the fourth quarter and also recorded two saves. For East Carolina, Jamie Collender led with two goals and two assists, while Jaime Behar made four saves as starting goalkeeper.
Matthews’ performance marked her fifth career hat trick. Root recorded her second hat trick of the season, and Schiavo achieved her first multi-goal game. Cuviello has now caused four turnovers in back-to-back games.
Looking ahead, James Madison will travel to Tampa to face South Florida on Saturday, March 21. The game is scheduled for noon and will be streamed on ESPN+.
