HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – A 6-0 Blue Jays run that bridged the halves was too much for #14 James Madison to overcome as they fell to #5 Johns Hopkins, 17-8, in a top-15 matchup on Wednesday night at Sentara Park.
Savannah Derey and Maddie Epke paced JMU (6-4, 2-0 AAC) with hat tricks, with Epke winning a game-high 15 draw controls to go along with two ground balls and one caused turnover. Olivia Matthews and Brianna Mennella each recorded a goal as Mennella provided a pair of helpers. Defensively, Olivia Rongo caused two turnovers, while Adanya Moyer led JMU in ground balls, with five Dukes recording a pair of ground balls each behind her.
Moyer made her sixth start in the cage and made nine saves on 35 shots faced. JMU won the draw battle (17-11) for the seventh time this season but was outshot 35-20 and committed a season-high 24 turnovers.
Ashley Mackin led Hopkins (8-2, 2-0 Big 10) with nine goals while Paris Colgain (five) and Raegan O’Brien (four) led the way in caused turnovers for the Blue Jays.
First Quarter – Johns Hopkins 4, James Madison 2
• Derey and Mackin scored the opening pair of goals for both sides to knot the contest at 2-2 at the 8:05 mark of the first.
• The Blue Jays took advantage of nine first-quarter Duke turnovers and led 4-2 at the end of one.
Second Quarter – Johns Hopkins 7, James Madison 4
• Both sides took turns exchanging goals as the Blue Jays maintained a two-goal lead at 6-4 with 8:35 to go in the second stanza.
• Scoring stalled for the remainer of the quarter until Hopkins netted one more score in the closing seconds of the period to led 7-4 at the break.
Third Quarter – Johns Hopkins 11, James Madison 5
• The Dukes led 4-1 in draws in the third frame, but saw three of their five shots saved while Hopkins continued its 6-0 run and led 11-4 at the 4:38 mark of the period.
• Epke took it herself in the closing minute of the quarter to trim the deficit to six heading to the fourth.
Fourth Quarter – Johns Hopkins 17, James Madison 8
• Mennella netted her goal in the opening minute of the final frame as JMU attempted to spark a rally.
• The Blue Jays countered with a 4-0 run and led 15-6 midway through the fourth, as the Dukes were unable to force any takeaways and Hopkins closed out the win.
Game notes
• Maddie Epke has recorded at least one goal in 29 straight games and eclipsed 100 career goals in the contest.
• JMU has won the draw battle in seven out of ten games, suffering just its second loss when leading in draws.
Up next
#14 JMU will conclude its homestand against Charlotte on Saturday, March 29. Opening draw is set for noon.
— JMU Athletics —
