Score: #3 James Madison 21, UAlbany 12
 
Location: Sentara Park in Harrisonburg, Va.
 
Records: UAlbany (0-5) | James Madison (5-0)
 
Short Story: Grace McCauley scores five goals, and Katie Pascale goes for three with two assists and 11 draws, but women's lacrosse falls at #3 James Madison 21-12.
 
Key Stats

• Grace McCauley scored five goals
• Katie Pascale scored three goals and added two assists with three ground balls, one caused turnover, and 11 draw controls
• Bryar Hogg scored twice with three assists
• Haley Phalines and Kloey Roos each scored once
• James Madison outshot UAlbany 33-24
• UAlbany put 22 of 24 shots on goal
• Maddie Epke and Katelyn Morgan for James Madison each scored five goals 

Head Coach Katie Thomson: "I loved the way we came out and played a really solid first half.  James Madison was very opportunistic throughout the third quarter, but we never game up and made some great stops and plays throughout.  We've been challenged to start this season, and we are holding our heads up as we learn and grow."

How it Happened

• The University at Albany women's lacrosse program, after a quick, one-game stop at home to face #23 Brown, kicked off a three-game road swing with a long road trip to #3 James Madison.  The Dukes, who UAlbany would meet on the field for the first time in program history, were the fourth top-25 team the Great Danes would play in their first five games of the 2024 season.
• James Madison entered the game ranked 10th nationally in scoring offense, but was playing without their leading scorer, Isabella Peterson, who ranked second nationally in total goals and fourth in total points, after being assessed a red card in the Dukes' previous game against Towson.
• On Sunday, it took just 17 seconds for James Madison to get on the board.  Ava Bleckley won the opening draw and Katelyn Morgan scored off an assist from Maddie Epke, both of whom would finish the game with five goals.  In response, after drawing a free position attempt, Kloey Roos scored her fifth goal of the season to tie the game at one.
• Roos' goal sparked a 4-0 run for the Great Danes over the ensuing nine minutes of game time.  Haley Phalines scored her first of the season, woman-up, off an assist from Katie Pascale with 11:24 on the clock.  Bryar Hogg followed, unassisted, with 9:00 remaining, and finally, Grace McCauley scored her first of five goals with 5:09 left in the quarter, off a setup from Pascale.
• With 4:29 remaining, James Madison's Kacey Knobloch scored to end UAlbany's run and cut the Great Danes' lead to 4-2.  Epke broke through with 16 seconds remaining in the quarter to close the Dukes with one after one.
• James Madison scored with 11:29 left in the second to tie the game at four.  Undeterred, UAlbany soon retook the lead when McCauley scored two goals one minute apart to put the Great Danes back up by two.  The Dukes scored the next two, tying the game at six, before Pascale successfully converted a free position shot to put UAlbany back up one.
• In the final 3:40 of the second quarter, James Madison scored three times to take a two-goal, 9-7 lead into the break, including one with just one second on the clock from Savannah Derey.
• McCauley scored within the first 90 seconds of the third quarter, her fourth of the game, to quickly close UAlbany within one.  James Madison responded by scoring each of the next six over the ensuing five minutes to take a commanding 15-8 lead.  Hogg interrupted the Dukes' run, woman-up, with 5:22 on the clock, followed by another goal from Katie Pascale 80 seconds later.  James Madison scored the final goal of the quarter to take a six-goal advantage into the fourth.
• The Dukes scored the first five goals of the final frame to go up 11, 21-10.  James Madison's defense had held UAlbany scoreless for the final 3:48 of the third and the first 12:43 of the fourth quarters.  Pascale and McCauley scored with 2:17 and 0:32 left in the game, respectively, to bring the final score to 21-12 in favor of the Dukes.
• UAlbany finished the game with a season-high 12 goals, after scoring a high of 10 in three of their previous four games.  McCauley's five goals represent a single-game career high.

Next: UAlbany visits Colgate on March 2.