JMU lacrosse earns No. 7 seed in NCAA Championship, will host Army in first round

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - James Madison lacrosse earned the No. 7 seed in the 2023 NCAA Lacrosse Championship on Sunday evening. The Dukes will host Army in the first round on Friday.

After dropping its season opener to defending national champion North Carolina, the Dukes won 17 games in a row, capped off by winning the AAC Regular Season crown.

On Saturday, top seed JMU fell 9-8 to second seed Florida 9-8 in the AAC Conference Championship final. The Dukes enter the Big Dance with a 17-2 overall record.

This season marks only the fifth time the Dukes have earned a protected ranking in the national tournament.

“We have been incredible all year long,” said JMU head coach Shelley Klaes. “A loss doesn’t shake our confidence, it just surges us to be ready to do the work.”

JMU senior attacker Tai Jankowski is the second-leading scorer this spring with 50 goals on the season.

“We’re on top of the world,” said Jankowski. “We saw great things, but now we have a moment to step back, look at our game, and improve.”

The Dukes’ offense has been led by redshirt junior attacker Isabella Peterson, who recently became the all-time leading scorer in program history with 202 goals.

“We’re all competitors,” said Peterson. “We hate losing and that’s something that has helped us... our competitive energy and our grit.”

The Dukes are set to host Army on Friday, May 12 at 2 p.m. at Sentara Park. This game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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