SPARKS, Md. — James Madison is hardly the only team in the nation to not have its identity truly ironed out just two weeks into February.

The beauty of early season lacrosse is the opportunity for teams to work out the kinks in live action. Instead of tinkering with rotations in fall ball or running even the most intense in-practice simulations, live game play is what can teach teams what needs to be done to get better.

Consider James Madison players students of the game at this juncture in the season. Even after an 11-8 win over UConn at US Lacrosse’s William G. Tierney Field, Maddie McDaniel was self-reflective.

“We might not have an identity yet, but any day, anyone can come out and be the leading scorer,” said McDaniel, who controlled seven draws. “I think that’s really good because that makes us hard to scout. I think it gives us confidence, but we’re definitely still working through some things as well.”

Playing UConn at Tierney Field for the fourth year in a row, No. 18 James Madison (2-1) fell behind 6-5 after Olivia Troy capped a 3-0 run early in the second half. The Dukes answered with a 3-0 spurt of its own, both started and finished by Daria Lucchesi.

UConn (1-1) twice cut the deficit to one goal, but James Madison built the final 11-8 score with goals from Taylor Marchetti and Logan Brennan. Brennan echoed sentiments from JMU coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe about how many of the Dukes’ 36 shots were good looks but not executed well.

“I think that we were getting good shots in the beginning of the game, but we weren’t necessarily finishing them,” Brennan said. “The goalie was making a lot of good saves.”

Indeed, Grace Beshlian anchored the defense with 14 saves. She vastly outperformed Molly Dougherty, who made five saves in the first half but none in the second before being replaced by Kat Buchanan.

“Maybe we took a little too long on the decision to leave Molly and bring Kat in,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “We have a lot of faith in her. We know she’s a great player, but we’re making sure our standard doesn’t lower. As much as we value her, we have other goalies who could make a difference. It’s just showing the team that we’re not going to settle. Even the best players on the team, if they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do, they’re going to get subbed.”

Both McDaniel and Brennan were sophomores on JMU’s 2018 national championship team, and although that identity is one that could be emulated, it’s not one that can be duplicated. McDaniel said that group’s work ethic is one she hopes to pass down to the underclassmen, and Klaes-Bawcombe just hopes their confidence grows as the season progresses.

“Sometimes as an offensive unit, you want to be able to rely on one person to just be there for you in the hard times, and we don’t have that person established on this team,” she said. “They have to be OK with no one caring who gets the credit because in the end, it’s JMU that gets the credit.”

No. 17 Navy Outlasts Duke Comeback

The Midshipmen overcame a furious Duke comeback in the second half to win, 16-15. They used an 8-1 run to head into halftime with a 13-6 lead, then scored once more to go ahead 14-6. Duke (2-2) then scored seven straight goals, cutting the deficit to 14-13.

Navy (2-1) stopped the spurt when Kayla Harris and Reagan Roelofs scored consecutive tallies, with Roelofs’ goal putting the Mids ahead 16-13 with 4:58 remaining. Duke kept climbing, though.  Catriona Barry and Abby Landry scored 20 seconds apart with less than a minute left, and the Blue Devils got the final shot of the game when Katie Cronin shot as time expired. But the attempt went wide left, allowing Navy to secure the one-goal win.

Notable

• Notre Dame thumped Central Michigan 24-4 behind four goals each from Andie Aldave, Maddie Howe and Erin McBride. Aldave also became the program's all-time leader in draw controls.

• Merrimack earned its first Division I victory with a 10-9 win over Canisius. Meghan Dzialo scored the winner with just 19 seconds remaining.

• Vanderbilt had No. 14 Boston College on the ropes early, but the Eagles recovered for a 15-12 win in their home opener. Cara Urbank scored six goals.

Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20

No. 1 North Carolina 22, Davidson 5
No. 2 Syracuse vs. Binghamton, 8 p.m.
No. 4 Northwestern 28, Arizona State 12
No. 5 Virginia 17, Cal 7
No. 9 Notre Dame 24, Central Michigan 4
No. 14 Boston College 15, Vanderbilt 12
No. 17 Navy 16, Duke 15
No. 18 James Madison 11, UConn 8

Other Scores

Boston U. 22, Hartford 4
Gardner-Webb 18, Akron 5
Harvard 15, Niagara 3
Holy Cross 13, UMass Lowell 5
Iona 9, New Hampshire 8
Mercer 14, Campbell 9
Merrimack 10, Canisius 9
St. Bonaventure 10, Central Connecticut 9
Stetson 18, Oregon 15