James Madison Revenge Tour Starts with Epke on the Draw

During her near-two-decade tenure in Harrisonburg, Va., James Madison coach Shelley Klaes has recruited and mentored her fair share of draw specialists. But few have possessed the technical ability and risk-control that Maddie Epke displays.

“She’s able to manipulate [the draw] in a lot of different ways,” Klaes said. “As she develops those options to control for self-possession and learns how to smother the ball to get those self-draws, she has also enhanced her ability to work with the circle players.”

Two years ago, Epke burst onto the scene as the Dukes’ lone freshman starter. In 2024, she broke the JMU single-season record for draw controls, pulling down 178 in 20 games. The Guilford, Conn., native also racked up 125 points in her first 42 college games.

Epke’s production on the college stage helped her earn a spot on the U.S. Women’s U20 National Team for the 2024 World Lacrosse U20 World Championship in Hong Kong, China. While there, she shattered the world championship record with 110 draw controls in tournament play.

“Her dominance is special,” Klaes said. “She’s a world record holder for a reason. It comes through a lot of hours of hard work away from the team on those skills.

As Epke and the Dukes headed south for a Saturday neutral-site clash with then-No. 5 Florida at the Crown Lacrosse Classic, the junior attacker said she felt JMU was primed for a standout showing.

Perhaps it was the Friday night home-cooked meal at a teammate’s house or the fair skies and 70-degree weather in Charlotte. Nevertheless, Epke said she and her teammates embraced an underdog mentality while knowing it was their game to win.

“Everyone was feeling so much energy,” Epke said. “We were singing, dancing, having fun and getting loose but still very serious. Everyone just started to play the way they wanted to all season.”

Epke stuffed the stat sheet during the 17-16 upset victory over Florida, tallying four points, two assists and a season-high 18 draw controls. Eight different Dukes scored goals.

Her banner day also vaulted her up the JMU record books. Epke jumped into second place on the Dukes’ all-time draw control leaderboard, breaking a tie with former defender Rachel Matey. With 306 career draw controls, Epke is just 24 away from surpassing Isabella Peterson’s program record (329).

As a freshman, Epke worked alongside Peterson as the latter was named a Tewaaraton Award finalist. Now in the professional ranks, Peterson has passed the torch down to JMU’s next superstar — one whom she worked in tandem with in the circle and on attack.

“Bella’s stoic, competitive leadership [was] really good for Maddie,” Klaes said. “Maddie is more technical and really understands the game. Bella was really more of a worker, gritty, cutthroat competitor. They were able to balance each other out with their learning styles and skills.”

The Dukes, who placed a season-opening blowout loss to North Carolina firmly on the backburner with four consecutive victories, have shifted their focus to a regional rivalry of sorts against No. 10 Maryland on Saturday.

Klaes said the Terrapin draw unit looks especially strong on tape. She added that Maryland’s elevated foul count means JMU must demonstrate a “courageous aggression” on the attacking end to draw calls around the cage.

“When you produce a win, it only gets harder,” Klaes said. “It’s probably going to be the best draw unit we face, and we’ve had a lot of great draw teams already on our schedule. I expect this to be a battle.”

Epke, who will turn 21 on Saturday, said the Dukes’ fall ball matchup with the Terrapins was a close-run affair. She anticipates more of the same at Sentara Park.

“[We’re] just continuing with the revenge tour,” Epke said. “We got Florida back for the bad loss from last year, and now it’s time for Maryland.”

BROWNIE POINTS (OF PROGRESS)

When Katrina Dowd took on the Brown coaching vacancy ahead of the 2024 season, the former Northwestern attacker sought to forge a premier player development model. Dowd led the Bears to a 10-5 record during her first year in Providence.

Since then, Dowd said she has seen remarkable progress throughout the program.

“We like to dominate the details of the game,” Dowd said. “They really are dialed in on that. It’s day-by-day. It’s game-by-game, and that’s the focus and intensity that this group brings. They have the freedom to express themselves on the field, and they are having a ton of fun.”

Through its first four games, Brown has built its best start to a season since 2014. The Bears boast the nation’s most potent scoring attack, averaging 20 goals per game. On the defensive end, Brown has allowed a national-low 4.25 goals per game.

The free-flowing Bears attack has scored at least 20 goals in three of its four outings. The offense operates through its quarterback-like feeder in Annie Burton — a senior attacker whose teammates and coaches have aptly nicknamed “Tom Burthy.” Burton has posted a team-high 16 assists and is Brown’s co-points leader alongside fellow attacker Greta Criqui (20 points).

“She just has unbelievable vision, but also such a feel for the game,” Dowd said of Burton. “She has [the] ability to make others better, her connection with Greta is awesome and she sees the whole field to connect with her teammates.”

With what Dowd called complete buy-in to the team’s defensive scheme, the Bears have conceded just 17 goals all season. Dowd said junior goalkeeper Claire Mahoney has taken significant strides this season, and Mahoney’s confidence has instilled belief throughout the entire defensive unit. She has posted an NCAA-best .618 save percentage this season.

Dowd added that Brown’s defensive identity encapsulates team lacrosse.

“We play a woman-to-woman style defense, so you really have to play ‘Got your back’ lacrosse,” Dowd said. “You have to be able to handle a 1-v-1 but also slide in unison, recover, be great at communicating and great with your footwork.”

Six days removed from a 20-6 victory over Vermont, the Bears will open conference play Friday at Cornell. The Big Red have launched an impressive start of their own, most recently knocking off Penn State in a 14-8 win on Saturday.

For Dowd, the collective strength of the Ivy League this season means no game can be taken for granted.

“It’s such a strong league with so many teams ranked and so much pride that every game is a huge game,” Dowd said. “The hunger and desire to get better every single day needs to be there. Even with this hot start, I just feel in my team a desire to improve and just try to be the best team they can be.”

BY THE NUMBERS

9 • Assists for Georgia Latch in No. 14 Loyola’s 14-10 win over Georgetown.

6 • Fourth-quarter goals from No. 15 Johns Hopkins in a 14-13 comeback victory over Stony Brook.

5 • Lauren Black goals in Denver’s 13-11 upset of No. 5 Michigan.

75 • Combined points from No. 1 Boston College’s Rachel Clark and Emma LoPinto — the most production among two teammates nationwide.

17 • Draw controls from No. 7 Clemson in its 9-8 win over then-No. 6 Syracuse. The Orange corralled just four draw controls during their third consecutive loss.