No. 9 Maryland women’s lacrosse vs. No. 2 James Madison preview

No. 9 Maryland women’s lacrosse bounced back last Wednesday, easily handling William and Mary on the road, 20-5.

The Terps will return home this Sunday for a top-10 matchup against No. 2 James Madison.

The game is set for 11 a.m. and will stream on Big Ten Plus.

James Madison Dukes (6-0, 0-0 ACC)

2023 record: 19-3, 6-0 ACC

Led by 18-year head coach Shelley Klaes, James Madison is off to a hot start as it seeks to capture a third straight conference championship and better its Elite Eight appearance from last season.

In their six games so far this season, the Dukes have scored 113 goals and posted a shooting percentage of .766. They rank top-five in the nation in both total offense and draw controls.

Notably, the Dukes have two top-25 wins this year in games against then-No.3 North Carolina and then-No. 24 UConn.

Players to watch

Isabella Peterson, senior attacker, No. 17 — One of the best players in the sport, Peterson has the most career goals (245) and points (302) in James Madison history. This season, the two-time all-American has 22 goals and 27 points through five games. She’s scored five goals in a game thrice.

Lizzy Pirisino, senior defender, No. 24 — Pirisino, the anchor of James Madison’s defense, set her career high last season with 17 caused turnovers. So far this season, through only six games, she’s forced 12 turnovers to go along with six ground balls.

Maddie Epke, sophomore attacker, No. 20 — Epke is off to a stellar second season, recently being named the USA Lacrosse Division I Women’s Player of the Week. She currently leads the team with 55 draw controls and ranks 11th all-time in draw controls in program history.

Strength

Scoring. The Dukes boast the second-best offense in Division I, netting just under 19 goals per game. They’ve scored 113 goals this season while holding their opponents to a total of 68.

They’ve scored at least 20 goals in each of their past three games.

Weakness

Ground balls. James Madison’s opponents have combined for 104 ground balls, while it’s only scooped up 96.

Three things to watch

1. Draw controls. Maryland’s Shaylan Ahearn and James Madison’s Epke both pose dangerous threats in the center circle. Saturday’s game may very well be decided by who’s able to come away with more draws.

2. Terps want a rematch. Last season, the Terps suffered faced a heartbreaking 15-14 loss to James Madison in the NCAA Tournament. Now at home, Maryland looks to redeem itself.

3. Another top-10 opponent. Maryland is 2-0 this season against top-10 opponents, but the Dukes boast one of the most complete rosters in the nation. Friday’s game, at least on paper, will be the Terps’ toughest test until they play No. 1 Northwestern in just under a month.