James Madison beat North Carolina 15-14 in double overtime in its season opener. Two weeks later, the Tar Heels topped reigning national champion Maryland 16-15 in overtime for its lone loss thus far this season.
The Terps then handed previously unbeaten Penn its first loss, 13-7, on Thursday.
Now, only three undefeated teams remain standing in Division I women’s lacrosse – No. 1 Stony Brook, No. 2 James Madison and No. 4 Boston College.
This Saturday, No. 2 JMU and No. 3 Maryland will battle it out. Will the Terps break another team’s hot streak, or will the Dukes prove it deserves their No. 2 ranking?
NO. 2 JAMES MADISON AT NO. 3 MARYLAND
WHEN: Saturday, March 24, 12 p.m.
WATCH: BTN Plus
Since the UNC upset, James Madison has defeated only one other Top 20 team, 14-12 against then-No. 20 Penn State on March 7. Meanwhile, Maryland has downed four Top 20 opponents – Florida 16-14, Syracuse 18-11, Johns Hopkins 15-5 and most recently Penn.
The Dukes are off to their best start in 30 years at 8-0 and are one win shy of tying the program record, which was set during the 1988 season when they started out 9-0. A victory over Maryland would be significant, especially when they felt they were slighted during preseason rankings. They entered 2018 at No. 17 in the Nike/US Lacrosse preseason Top 20 and No. 16 in the IWLCA coaches’ poll.
“I don’t think they saw the resilience and fire we have,” JMU senior defender Rebecca Tooker said. “We know that we’re so much better than the numbers that are on paper. I think they overlooked how good of a team we actually are.”
As of March 21, James Madison has the No. 4 scoring offense in Division I and No. 5 scoring margin, the latter which can be attributed to a balanced effort between its defensive front and offensive firepower. Maryland is comparable with the No. 1 scoring offense and No. 4 scoring margin, while also sitting third in draw controls per game.
Both teams also have comparable attackers in Dukes senior Kristen Gaudian and Terps senior Megan Whittle. Gaudian is second in both overall shot and free position percentages and fourth in free position goals per game. Whittle is first in free position goals per game and fifth in free position percentage.
Saturday’s game will reveal how well these two teams actually match up. Maryland leads the all-time series 40-3. The last time JMU toppled the Terps was during back-to-back seasons in 2002 and 2003 by one goal each time. Before then, the Dukes won in 1976, 11-4.
“Finishing the game is going to be a huge test for us,” Dukes senior midfielder Haley Warden said.