James Madison University lacrosse players Olivia Matthews, Olivia Rongo, and Jolie Schiavo were named Attack Player, Defensive Player, and Freshman of the Week by the American Conference on Mar. 17. The league announced the awards on Tuesday.
These honors represent the second set of weekly awards for James Madison this season. Matthews earned her first weekly award of the current season and the second of her career, having previously been recognized in 2025. Both Rongo and Schiavo received their first Player of the Week awards. Goalkeeper Abigail Beattie was also named an honorable mention for the second time this season.
Matthews, a sophomore attacker, contributed a goal and a ground ball in JMU’s 16-4 win over Liberty, marking their first road victory this year. In the team’s American Conference opener against East Carolina, she scored a career-high five goals along with two assists, one caused turnover, and four draw controls as JMU secured a 16-10 win—its fourth consecutive conference opener victory.
Rongo, a senior defender from Westhampton, New York, caused five turnovers and collected four ground balls during the win over Liberty. She added four more ground balls and three forced turnovers against East Carolina to help secure back-to-back wins for JMU. Rongo has caused at least three turnovers in each of her last five games; her average of 3.13 caused turnovers per game leads the American Conference and ranks seventh nationally.
Schiavo contributed with a goal, an assist, a ground ball, and a caused turnover in the victory over Liberty. She then scored a career-high two goals against East Carolina while also collecting another ground ball as JMU claimed its first conference win of 2026.
The Dukes will continue their American Conference schedule in Tampa this weekend when they face the University of South Florida Bulls on Saturday, March 21. The match is scheduled to begin at noon and will be streamed on ESPN+.
