Image courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications

By Bennett Conlin (This content was originally published in our newsletter)

Dukes fall to in-state foe – Despite similar stat lines, a few key saves and timely goals gave Virginia a 14-9 win over JMU. 

Struggling against the best – Against two top-10 teams, JMU (7-2) is 0-2 with a combined score of 32-16. Against the other seven teams on their schedule, the Dukes are 7-0 with a combined score of 102-52. The Dukes haven’t played great against UNC or UVA, but the team is still really good. With several young contributors, it’s going to take some time until the Dukes become completely comfortable beating top-10 teams. 

Up next – Things don’t get easier for the Dukes, as they host No. 2 Maryland (9-0 and fresh off a 17-6 beatdown of No. 23 Penn State) on Sunday afternoon. JMU will need an unbelievable effort to win that game.