James Madison University will play against Notre Dame in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship, according to a May 3 announcement by the NCAA selection committee.
The match is scheduled for Friday, May 8 at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. The game will begin at 4 p.m. Eastern Time and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The winner between JMU (13-6) and Notre Dame (12-5) will advance to play top-seeded Northwestern (15-3) on Sunday, May 10 in the second round.
James Madison secured its spot in the tournament after winning its second consecutive American Conference tournament title. This marks JMU’s eleventh straight appearance and twenty-second overall berth in the NCAA Championship. During the regular season, JMU was ranked as high as No. 21 and currently holds No. 25 in the IWLCA Division I Coaches Poll. The team also enters the tournament ranked fifteenth in RPI, matching its highest ranking of this season.
Historically, James Madison has won opening-round games in four of its last five NCAA Championships. In their history with Notre Dame, this upcoming match will be their seventh meeting overall but their first matchup since March 10, 2009 and their first time facing each other in an NCAA Championship game. Notre Dame leads the series with four wins to JMU’s two and has won both previous neutral-site contests played between them.
In total, James Madison has participated twenty-two times in the NCAA tournament with a record of seventeen wins and twenty losses. The Dukes have reached two Final Fours (in 2000 and again when they captured a national title in 2018). Ticketing and parking information for fans attending this year’s event is expected to be announced soon.
