How big was No. 15 James Madison’s 13-8 upset victory over No. 3 Maryland in College Park, Md., on Saturday?

It was the Dukes first win over the Terps since 2003.

It was just the fifth home loss in 16 seasons (161 games) for Maryland under head coach Cathy Reese.

It was JMU’s first win over a Top 5 opponent since the Dukes won the NCAA championship in 2018.

But what matters most? It was a huge victory for this year’s JMU team, which has to earn its way into the NCAA tournament as an at-large team with no path through the Colonial Athletic Association due to the school’s move to the Sun Belt Conference.

JMU PULLS THE UPSET @JMULacrosse downs @MarylandWLax 13-8 at College Park. pic.twitter.com/pe7QtK6eAu

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) March 26, 2022

After starting the year 3-4, the Dukes have made quite the case in the last two weeks, beating three straight Top 20 teams — Richmond, Virginia and Maryland.

But this one was special.

Isabella Peterson was dominant, scoring five goals to go along with five draw controls. Molly Dougherty was her usual stellar self, making 10 saves, including seven in the second half. The JMU defense made Maryland work for everything and the Terps couldn’t take advantage on the 8-meter arc, converting just 1 of 8 free position attempts in the game.

Tied 6-6 at the half, JMU (6-4) scored four straight goals to open the second half — fueled by two goals and an assist from Katie Checkosky — and Maryland (8-1) was chasing the rest of the way, never able to get closer than three goals.

Hannah Leubecker and Libby May each scored three goals for Maryland and Emily Sterling made eight saves after coming off the bench with the Terps down 4-3 after the first quarter.

Northwestern Pulls Away from Michigan

On a bone-chilling day in Ann Arbor, Mich., No. 4 Northwestern and No. 12 Michigan were slow to get started, but the Wildcats pulled away for a 12-9 victory. The field had to be cleared of snow before the game and temperatures were hovering in the low 20s.

Early in the second quarter the two teams had combined for 21 shots, but just one goal as the defenses were locked in, no one more so that Northwestern goalie Madison Doucette. Doucette finished with a career-high 16 saves.

Norhtwestern (8-2, 2-0 B1G) never trailed in the game, but a three-goal spurt from Michigan in the third quarter tied the game 7-7 and the Wolverines (9-2, 1-1 B1G) trailed by just one goal, 9-8, entering the fourth quarter.

Elle Hansen, who missed the first five games of the season due to an injury she suffered at the end of 2021, then stepped up to complete one of her biggest days in a Wildcat uniform. Hansen scored the first goal of the fourth quarter to ignite a three-goal Northwestern rally. Hansen finished with four goals, her career-high, and matched the total of goals she had this season entering the game.

Jill Girardi also scored four goals for Northwestern and she added a game-high seven draw controls. Lauren Gilbert had a career-best five assists and Erin Coykendall had five points (2g, 3a).

Michigan goalie Arielle Weissman was also superb, making 14 saves. The Wolverines were led by Kaitlyn Mead with three goals and an assist.

Duke Wins 11^th Game, Beats Notre Dame

Catriona Barry scored six goals, including four goals in the final 18:05 of the game, to lead No. 9 Duke to a 15-12 win over No. 20 Notre Dame. The Blue Devils are now 11-1, tied with North Carolina for the most wins in the country, and 3-1 in the ACC.

Barry has now scored at least four goals in nine of the Blue Devils’ first 12 games, helping Duke lead the country in scoring average (19.5 goals per game).

CAT BARRY @DukeWLAX bench

Blue Devils hold on for the 15-12 win over @NDWomensLax. pic.twitter.com/XGvbqZ1BBY

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) March 26, 2022

On Saturday, Duke jumped out to a 5-1 lead and never trailed, but Notre Dame cut the lead to one goal on two separate occasions, the last coming with 47 seconds remaining to make the score 9-8.

Duke’s Abby Landry scored just 19 seconds later to give the Blue Devils a 10-8 lead entering the fourth quarter and Barry then scored back-to-back goals in a run that eventually reached four straight goals.

Duke goalie Sophie LeRose matched her season-high with 11 saves while three other Blue Devils added two goals — Landry, Olivia Carner and Maddy Jenner. Jenner had 10 draw controls.

Madison Mote had five goals and two assists for Notre Dame (4-6, 1-3 ACC) and Kasey Choma had a hat trick.

Duke’s 11-1 start is its best since 2015, when the Blue Devils also started 11-1 on the way to a trip to the NCAA semifinal round.

Ortega Hits 300 Career Goals

North Carolina’s Jamie Ortega became just the third player in NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse history to score 300 career goals as the No. 1 Tar Heels defeated Virginia Tech 20-8. Ortega had a hat trick, giving her an even 300 goals for her career.

Courtney Murphy (Stony Brook, 2014-18) holds the NCAA all-time record with 341 and Ortega joined current ACC rival Charlotte North (Boston College) as the only other players with at least 300 career goals.

Ally Mastroianni and Caitlyn Wurzburger led the Tar Heels (11-0, 4-0 ACC) with four goals each while Scott Rose Growney and Brooklyn Neumen each added had tricks along with Ortega. Sarah Lubnow had three goals and an assist for Virginia Tech (8-5, 2-3 ACC).
 

No. 13 Rutgers Rallies Past Johns Hopkins

Johns Hopkins led most of the way, but No. 13 Rutgers rallied from a two-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Blue Jays 12-11 on Taralyn Naslonski's goal with just six seconds remaining.

The Blue Jays led by as many as four goals in the second half, but Rutgers scored three straight to get within a goal going into the fourth quarter. After JHU's Madison McPherson scored to open the fourth, Rutgers again scored three straight to take an 11-10 lead, its first lead since early in the first quarter.

McPherson tied it up for the Blue Jays with 2:23 left, but after a JHU turnover, Rutgers got what amounted to the final possession.Naslonski took a flip from Marin Hartshorn and raced to the middle of the field and buried the game-winner.

NASLONSKI FOR THE WIN

She sinks the game-winner to give @rutgers_wlax the victory over @HopkinsLacrosse. pic.twitter.com/TYs9qHphNv

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) March 26, 2022

Cassidy Spilis led Rutgers (9-1, 1-1 B1G) with five goals and Naslonski and Stephanie Kelly each had two goals and two assists. Sophia Cardello also made 11 saves.

Shelby Harrison scored four times for Johns Hopkins (5-5, 0-2 B1G) and McPherson had a hat trick.

Virginia Escapes Louisville

Ashley Vernon made 12 saves as No. 16 Virginia picked up a tough road win at Louisville, 12-11. Vernon’s 12^th and final save came in the closing seconds as Louisville made a last grasp at pulling off the upset.

ASHLEY VERNON SAVE.@UVAWomensLax holds on to beat @LouisvilleLax 12-11 in the final seconds. pic.twitter.com/yHyoZZAaGw

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) March 26, 2022

Freshman Rachel Clark scored three times for Virginia and her goal to open the fourth quarter gave the Cavaliers the lead for good, but Louisville never went away.

Ashlyn McGovern also scored three times for Virginia (6-6, 2-3 ACC) and Braden Dial added two goals and two assists for a team-high four points. Kate Miller had two goals, including a big tally in the fourth quarter.

Allegra Catalano led Louisville (5-6, 1-4 ACC) with five goals.

Yale Beats Penn for First Time Since 2004

Yale scored the final five goals of the game and got a last-second save from by Clare Boone to beat Ivy League rival Penn 11-10, the Bulldogs first win over the Quakers since 2004.

CLARE BOONE SAYS NO.@YaleWLacrosse tops @PennWomensLax 11-10 after a chaotic final seconds. pic.twitter.com/cgO60X5CCr

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) March 26, 2022

Trailing 10-6 with 12 minutes to play, the Bulldogs ripped off five straight goals, three of them by freshman Jenna Collignon. The two-time USA Lacrosse All-American from Hinsdale (Ill.) Central, tied the game with 6:23 to play and then scored the game-winner with 1:27 left.

Collignon, who scored two goals combined in her first four college games, has now put up back-to-back four goal efforts against Notre Dame and Penn. Olivia Markert added two goals and three assists for Yale (5-2, 2-0 Ivy) and Boone made nine saves.

Chloe Hunter had three goals for Penn (3-6, 0-2).

Notable

• No. 2 Boston College fell behind Pitt 5-1 early, but stormed back to beat the Panthers 19-12. Jenn Medjid (6g, 1a), Belle Smith (5g, 1a) and Charlotte North (4g, 1a) led the way.

• Kailyn Hart, Ellie Masera and Rayna Sabella each scored four goals as No. 5 Stony Brook beat Vermont 14-4.

• Livy Rosenzweig had five goals and two assists as No. 6 Loyola remained unbeaten (9-0) with a 23-5 victory over Boston University.

• The Tyrrell sisters, Emma and Meghan, combined for 18 points as No. 8 Syracuse beat Temple 22-7. Meaghan had five goals and five assists and Emma had five goals and three assists.

• No. 14 Navy overcame a 17-save effort from Lehigh goalie Hayley Hunt, scoring the final six goals of the game to post an 11-7 come-from-behind win. Reagan Roelefs had a game-high four points (3g, 1a) for Navy, including two goals during the game-closing run. Jo Torres made 11 saves for Navy.

• Kate Shaffer scored five goals and Landyn White made 12 saves as Connecticut won its seventh straight game, beating Hofstra 15-11.

• Ohio State outlasted Penn State 12-11 in a thriller on the Big Ten Network. Sophie Baez had two goals and five assists, including a feed to Jamie Lasda on the game-winning goal with 2:53 in the game.

• Siena Gore, the nation’s leading goal scorer, had five goals and four assists as Kennesaw State beat Gardner-Webb 18-10. Gore has 58 goals in 12 games for the Owls.

• Mary Soures scored a school-record nine goals as Siena outgunned Iona 21-20. The Saints scored the game’s final four goals, including a game-tying goal by Soures with 2:29 to play. Nicole McNeely, who set school career records for goals and points during the game, scored the winning goal with three seconds left.

• Kenna Kaut scored five goals as Bryant knocked off reigning Northeast Conference champion Mount St. Mary’s 14-10 in both team’s conference opener.

• Sophie Alois tied the game with 53 seconds left in regulation and Shannon Brazier scored the game-winner in the second overtime period as Cornell beat Harvard 10-9.

• Skylar McArthur scored five goals, including the game-winner with 3:16 remaining as Canisius opened MAAC play with a 14-13 comeback win over Manhattan.

How the Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20 Fared

No. 1 North Carolina defeated Virginia Tech, 20-8
No. 2 Boston College defeated Pitt, 19-12
No. 15 James Madison defeated No. 3 Maryland, 13-8
No. 4 Northwestern defeated No. 12 Michigan, 12-9
No. 5 Stony Brook defeated Vermont, 14-4
No. 6 Loyola defeated Boston University, 23-5
No. 8 Syracuse defeated Temple, 22-7
No. 9 Duke defeated No. 20 Notre Dame, 15-12
No. 13 Rutgers defeated Johns Hopkins, 12-11
No. 14 Navy defeated Lehigh, 11-7
No. 16 Virginia defeated Louisville, 12-11

All Scores

Albany 15, Binghamton 11
American 19, Holy Cross 7
Army 20, Colgate 12
Boston College 19, Pitt 12
Bryant 14, Mount St. Mary’s 10
Bucknell 16, Lafayette 9
Canisius 14, Manhattan 13
Connecticut 15, Hofstra 11
Cornell 10, Harvard 9 (2 OT)
Delaware 12, Old Dominion 11
Duke 15, Notre Dame 12
East Carolina 16, William & Mary 6
Elon 19, Winthrop 9
James Madison 13, Maryland 8
Kennesaw State 18, Gardner-Webb 10
Kent State 16, Detroit Mercy 11
Liberty 11, High Point 10
LIU 11, St. Francis (Pa.) 7
Loyola 23, Boston University 5
Merrimack 17, Howard 6
Navy 11, Lehigh 7
New Hampshire 12, UMass-Lowell 7
Niagara 13, Monmouth 10
North Carolina 20, Virginia Tech 8
Northwestern 12, Michigan 9
Ohio State 12, Penn State 11
Quinnipiac 19, Marist 7
Rutgers 12, Johns Hopkins 11
Siena 21, Iona 20
Stony Brook 14, Vermont 4
Syracuse 22, Temple 7
Towson 11, Georgetown 7
Villanova 12, UC Davis 10
Virginia 12, Louisville 11
Wagner 16, Central Connecticut State 5
Wofford 20, Delaware State 9
Yale 11, Penn 10