The University of Richmond women’s lacrosse team fell on the road against No. 19 James Madison University Feb. 27 by a score of 14-10.
UR entered looking to log just its fourth ever victory against the Dukes in the 51-game history between the two schools, and early on it appeared the Spiders would do just that, striking first on a free position shot from senior attacker Colleen Quinn five minutes in.
JMU equalized just twelve seconds from the ensuing draw control to knot the match at one as shots on goal began to tilt in the Dukes’ favor. By the close of the first quarter, JMU commanded a 7-3 shot advantage. However, sharp goals from junior attacker Alexis Morton and senior midfielder Grace Muldoon carried a 3-2 UR advantage into the next frame.
Less than two minutes elapsed in the second quarter before the Spiders found themselves downed once more by a pair of JMU goals as the Dukes exploded on offense. Sophomore goalie Abby Francioli added three crucial stops to a 15-save performance on the night, but a fifth JMU goal with 8:32 to go widened the gap back even more.
A strong man-down effort from junior attacker Charlotte Edwards put the Spiders within one of JMU with three minutes left in the half. As had been the case all game however, the Dukes responded in just 22 seconds to restore their two-goal lead. The 6-4 advantage seemed the likely halftime score when, with less than a minute to go, Morton forced a turnover and found the back of the net for her 100th career point. Quinn’s second of the night followed with five seconds to go, evening the contest entering the break.
“[Morton] had a strong day… hitting that 100 career point milestone is huge,” UR Head Coach Anne Harrington said in a call with The Collegian. “She’s grinding every day in practice; proud of her for that, and really pleased with how she’s stepping up.”
JMU seized control of the game with the third quarter with a 4-0 run, as 11 fouls called on the Spiders ground their momentum to a standstill. Seven free-position opportunities gave the Dukes ample chance to grow their lead, as UR managed just two shots on goal for the quarter.
Heading into the final period, the Spiders found their footing once more, exchanging goals with the Dukes as the offense began to crowd out JMU in ground ball possession. Muldoon’s second and third goals of the night brought UR’s total to eight, but alternating with the Dukes’ own efforts, the deficit did not budge.
Time ran out as a goal apiece from Quinn and first-year attacker Stella Axe drew the Spiders no closer to catching JMU. For UR, it was the second loss to a ranked team this season since upsetting then No. 19 Penn State University on Feb. 8.
“We built that schedule on purpose, in a way, to have some more challenging opponents before we get to conference play,” Harrington said. “You learn more things earlier, so we can be playing at a higher level in March, and then ultimately at a higher level in April, and a higher level in May.”
Overall, the Spiders dropped to 2-3, while the Dukes improved to 3-1 on the season. With Atlantic 10 conference play on the horizon, the Spiders’ final out-of-conference test will come against the University of Virginia, March 5 at 7 p.m.
Contact sports editor Scott Valentine at scott.valentine@richmond.edu
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