IRVING, Tx. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison lacrosse was chosen to repeat as champions of the American Conference in 2026, with Olivia Matthews and Reese Cuviello collecting major preseason awards and joining two other Dukes on the Preseason All-Conference Team, the league announced on Tuesday.
Matthews was picked as the Co-Preseason Attack Player of the Year, along with Sofia Chepenik of USF, while Cuviello earned Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The pair joined attacker Payton Root and defender Ava Bleckley on the preseason team.
The Dukes took the league’s top spot in the preseason coaches’ poll, receiving six first place votes and 36 points. USF, last season’s runner-up, checked in at second with 29 points. East Carolina rounds out the top three with 27 points and a first-place vote.
Matthews, a sophomore, started all 19 games for the Dukes last season and scored 31 goals, the most of any player returning player this season. The Bedford, N.H. native recorded 13 assists and won 29 draws, both good for third on the team last season. Posting four hat tricks and three games with at least four points, Matthews was dubbed Second Team All-American Conference.
Cuviello, a native of Fairfax, Va., posted five games with multiple ground balls and six games with multiple caused turnovers in 2025. The sophomore started in all 19 games, contributing two goals for the Dukes last season and earning a spot on the All-American Conference First Team.
Bleckley, returning for her third season in Harrisonburg, tallied 22 ground balls and caused 22 turnovers. The junior recorded seven games with multiple caused turnovers and six games with multiple ground balls, landing her a spot on the All-American First Team in 2025.
A reigning Second Team All-Conference attacker, Root made 15 game appearances for the Dukes in 2025. The Guilford, Conn. native scored 11 goals for the Dukes and notched a team leading 29 assists last season.
James Madison will open its season with a pair of matchups at Sentara Park, hosting the defending national champions, No. 1 North Carolina, on Saturday, Feb. 7, at noon, and Virginia Tech on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 4 p.m.
2026 American Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
1 James Madison (6) 36
2 South Florida 29
3 East Carolina (1) 27
4 Vanderbilt 22
5 Temple 16
6 Charlotte 11
7 Old Dominion 6
First-place votes in parenthesis
Preseason Attack Player of the Year
Olivia Matthews, James Madison
Sofia Chepenik, South Florida
Preseason Midfielder of the Year
Kayla Wilkes, East Carolina
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Reese Cuviello, James Madison
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Jaime Behar, East Carolina
Preseason All-Conference Team
Isa Torres, A, Charlotte*
Jaime Behar, G, East Carolina
Rachel Chessock, A, East Carolina
Emma Magazu, D, East Carolina*
Kayla Wilkes, M, East Carolina*
Ava Bleckley, D, James Madison*
Reese Cuviello, D, James Madison
Olivia Matthews, A, James Madison*
Payton Root, A, James Madison
Brynn Bowen, G, Old Dominion
Sofia Chepenik, A, South Florida*
Kali Cleary, M, South Florida
Kaitlyn Tartaglione, M, South Florida*
Kat Bielinski, D, Temple
Sabrina Martin, M, Temple*
Amelia Wright, A, Temple
Brooke Baker, M, Vanderbilt*
Alex Gladding, D, Vanderbilt*
Nancy Halleron, A, Vanderbilt*
* denotes unanimous selection
— JMU Athletics —
