Duke Uses Six-Goal Runs to Defeat James Madison in Round One of NCAA Championship

Friday, May 9

Charlottesville, Va.

6 p.m.

Duke University

13-5

James Madison

14-5

Duke

James Madison

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Duke Uses Six-Goal Runs to Defeat James Madison in Round One of NCAA Championship

5/9/2025 10:23:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 15 Duke women's lacrosse team used a pair of six-goal runs – one in the first period and another spanning from the end of the third into the fourth – to defeat No. 11 James Madison, 17-10, Friday evening inside Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.

Duke improves to 13-5 this season, while JMU finished its season with a 14-5 ledger. The Blue Devils advance to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the seventh time in program history, owning a 4-2 ledger in those games. They are set to face host and fifth-seeded Virginia Sunday at 1 p.m.

On Friday, graduate Callie Hem led the Blue Devils' offense, as her eight goals on nine shots tied the program single-game goals record. Redshirt sophomore Eva Pronti was Duke's top distributor, as her seven dimes matched the program's single-game record.

Sophomore Ellie White was dominant in the circle Friday, posting her career-high 11 draws. White held JMU's Maddie Epke to eight draws. Epke entered the game as the top-ranked draw taker in Division I women's lacrosse by averaging more than 12 a game.

How It Happened

In the Blue Devils' first possession, sophomore Bella Goodwin fed senior Mattie Shearer, who used a quick stick to give Duke the first goal at the 13:22 mark.
JMU responded and took the 2-1 lead, as the Dukes scored at the 11:56 and 10:43 marks.
JMU's advantage was short-lived, as the Blue Devils went on a six-goal run, pushing Duke's lead to 7-2 to close out the first period. Goodwin fed Hem, who notched a goal to tie the game, 2-2, with 9:46 remaining in the first quarter.
Hem scored her second marker of the game off a Pronti helper at the 5:58 mark. Less than a minute later, Pronti found the back of the cage off senior Carly Bernstein's dish, extending Duke's lead to 4-2.
Bernstein assisted Hem at the 4:31 mark, and Bernstein scored a goal off a Pronti feed with 3:52 second remaining in the first period to take the four-goal lead, 6-2. Hem scored her fourth goal of the game from a Pronti helper, rounding out Duke's six-goal run with 2:51 remaining in the first quarter.
JMU scored the first goal of the second period, but Goodwin slotted in her free-position shot with 8:41 remaining in the first half to regain the Blue Devils' five-goal lead, 8-3.
The Dukes cut the Blue Devils' lead in half, 8-4, with a goal at the 4:11 mark. However, Goodwin assisted Berenstein at the 2:52 mark to push Duke's lead to 9-4.
JMU scored with less than two minutes remaining in the first half to cut Duke's lead down to 9-5. Duke responded, as Hem scored her fifth and the final goal of the half to send the Blue Devils into the break leading 10-5.
Redshirt junior keeper Kennedy Everson recorded four saves in the first half – two in the first period and two in the second.
Bernstein opened scoring in the second half, giving the Blue Devils an 11-5 advantage at the 13:36 mark.
JMU cut Duke's lead to 11-8 as it went on a three-goal run, stretching from the 9:34 mark to the 6:40 mark.
Redshirt sophomore Ava Biancardi snapped JMU's run with 5:36 remaining in the third period, earning her first mark of the day off a Pronti assist, pushing Duke to a 12-8 advantage heading into the final period.
Duke went on a five-goal run in the last quarter, taking a 17-8 lead. With 11:33 remaining, Bernstein scored her free-position shot. Less than two minutes later, Biancardi scored her second marker of the game from a sophomore Caitlin Barrett feed.
Hem scored three goals, all off Pronti assists, stretching from the 6:31 mark to the 1:10 mark, capping off Duke's scoring.
JMU scored two goals with under a minute remaining, rounding out Duke's 17-10 victory.

Notes

Duke improves to 13-5 overall on the season, while JMU finishes with a 14-5 record.
The Blue Devils improve to 17-4 in the first round of the NCAA Championship.
The Blue Devils will advance to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the seventh time in program history and the first since 2022. Duke owns a 4-2 record in those games.
Duke pushes to a 3-0 advantage when facing JMU in postseason games.
Duke's seven goals in the first tied the highest number of goals scored in a first quarter this season.
The Blue Devils' 10 goals in the first half tied the team's season-high for most goals scored before the break.
Callie Hem scored eight goals – tying her career high and matching the single-game program goal record.
Eva Pronti dished out seven assists – tying the program single-game assist record.
The Blue Devils were dominant in the circle, earning 21 and holding JMU to 11. Ellie White led Duke, as she earned her career-high 11 draw controls.
Carly Bernstein scored four goals and Ava Biancardi slotted in two markers. Mattie Shearer, Bella Goodwin and Eva Pronti each scored one.
The Blue Devils forced six turnovers, led by Reilly Traynor with two.
Duke was 21-22 on clear attempts.

Up Next

The Blue Devils advance to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the seventh time in program history and are set to face fifth-seeded Virginia Sunday at 1 p.m. inside Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. The game will be aired on ESPN+.

For more information on Duke women's lacrosse, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeWLAX".

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