HARRISONBURG, Va. – Down 14-10 with 9:18 to play, No. 7 James Madison lacrosse staged a furious comeback to shock No. 11 Maryland 15-14 and advance to its first NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship quarterfinals in five years at Sentara Park on Sunday.
 
JMU scored five goals from the 6:21 to the 0:54 marks, finishing off the game with a 5-0 scoring run in just 5:27. Redshirt freshman Caitlin McElwee capped the run with just her sixth goal of the season.
 
The comeback victory improved JMU to 19-2 overall while Maryland finished its season at 15-7.
 
Redshirt junior Isabella Peterson scored seven goals on eight shots (.875) including the run-starting and tying goals in the fourth quarter, adding two assists for nine points. Sunday was her third game this season with at least seven goals. Redshirt senior Lizzy Fox and redshirt freshman Maddie Epke each scored twice with Epke adding an assist.
 
Redshirt senior Kat Buchanan made 11 saves on a .440 save percentage, with six key saves in the second half and three in the fourth quarter. JMU also got two ground balls and a caused turnover each from redshirt seniors Mairead Durkin and Rachel Matey and junior Nicholle Marshall.
 
For Maryland, senior Hannah Leubecker scored four goals while freshman Kori Edmondson netted a hat trick. Senior Shaylan Ahearn came up with a game-high eight draw controls while adding a pair of goals and an assist.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – James Madison 3, Maryland 3
JMU took a 2-0 lead with goals from Lizzy Fox and Peterson, before Maryland scored three straight to grab a 3-2 lead at the 1:44 mark. Peterson then found Katelyn Morgan to tie the game with 14 seconds left.

Second Quarter – Maryland 8, James Madison 7
There were four ties in the quarter and each team led on multiple occasions, but never by more than a goal. Peterson put up two more goals for a hat trick. Maryland controlled the possession, winning draw controls 7-3.

Third Quarter – Maryland 12, James Madison 8
With the score at 9-8, Maryland scored three straight goals in 5:16 to take a 12-8 lead, its biggest of the game, while holding JMU scoreless for the last 12:25. JMU was out-shot 10-3, but Buchanan kept the Dukes within striking distance with three saves.
 
Fourth Quarter – James Madison 15, Maryland 14
Two goals by Peterson allowed JMU to climb within 12-10 with 11:16 left to play, but Maryland responded with two of their own in 35 seconds to restore the four-goal lead at the 9:18 mark. From there, JMU first scored twice in 36 seconds to cut the deficit back to two with 5:45 left, before scoring three goals in the game’s final three minutes to complete the comeback. JMU got two goals from Peterson and one each from Epke, Taylor Marchetti and the winner from McElwee in the run. JMU hit both of its free-position shots and did not commit a turnover in the quarter.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• James Madison has advanced to the NCAA quarterfinal round for the ninth time in its history and has won two games to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.
• The Dukes had their first four-goal comeback since April 30, 2022 at Drexel, where they trailed 5-1 in the first quarter. Sunday was JMU’s first-ever four-goal comeback in the fourth quarter.
• JMU won its second game this season in which it trailed going into the fourth quarter (Virginia, March 22).
• The Dukes finished with a 10-0 home record, its third time ever with an undefeated home slate, going 8-0 in 1981 and 12-0 in 2018.
• JMU won its sixth game in the series against Maryland and has won three straight in the series for the first time ever.
• JMU shot 62.5% as a team, tying its best performance of the season with Richmond on April 5.
• This included a 4-for-5 (80.0%) performance from the free position.
• Combined with the regular-season matchup on March 1, Buchanan has made 21 saves in two games against the Terps.
• Sunday’s attendance was 698, the fourth-largest crowd for women’s lacrosse in Sentara Park history.

 
RECORDS AND MILESTONES

• Peterson now has 273 career points, breaking Gail Decker’s previous record of 267.

 
UP NEXT
JMU will travel to Syracuse, N.Y. to take on No. 2 seed Syracuse in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, May 18 at a time to be announced later. The quarterfinal round will air nationally on ESPNU.