The opening weekend of the 2018 NCAA women's lacrosse season was kind to the Colonial Athletic Association with two of the league's favorites pulling off major upsets on Saturday. Defending league champion James Madison got a career-high five goals from Kristen Gaudian and downed No. 3 North Carolina 15-14 in double overtime, and Towson jumped on No. 4 Penn State early before holding on for a 14-13 home victory.

No. 17 JMU and North Carolina went back-and-forth all day in a game that featured 10 ties and six lead changes in Harrisonburg, Va. The Dukes went on a four-goal run early in the second half to take a 12-9, their largest of the game, only to see North Carolina answer with five straight goals to seemingly take control at 14-12 with 5:29 remaining on a goal by Marie McCool.

However, Elena Romesburg scored her fifth goal of the game just 48 seconds later and then Gaudian tied it up on a man-up goal with 1:26 to play.

After two scoreless overtime periods, JMU won the draw to start the sudden victory period and then Gaudian delivered game winner. Her initial drive down the left alley was shut off, but she slipped underneath her defender and then cut in front of the goal to score the winner.

Kristen Gaudian denied on initial drive, then slips underneath for game winner as @JMULacrosse upsets No. 3 @uncwlax 15-14 in OT. Gaudian with career-high 5g. pic.twitter.com/H97STEqlBd

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 10, 2018

Guadian and Romesburg led the Dukes with their five goals each and Katie Kerrigan had four assists. Molly Dougherty came off the bench and made eight saves while allowing just four goals over the final 24 minutes to earn the victory.

McCool led the Tar Heels with four goals and added an assist and eight draw controls. Katie Hoeg had a hat trick. Elise Hennessey played the first half in goal for UNC and made three saves while allowing seven goals. Taylor Moreno came on for the second half and overtime periods and made nine saves while allowing eight goals.

Towson Upsets Penn State

Towson dominated the first half, taking an 11-5 lead on No. 4 Penn State before hanging on for a 14-13 decision. The Nittany Lions scored four straight goals to close the game in the final five minutes, two of them in the final minute.

Natalie Sulmonte paced the Tiger offense with three goals and three assists, and Carly Tellekamp and Gabby Cha each added hat tricks as well. Madison Carter led Penn State with six goals.

Penn State outshot Towson 39-23, but put only 21 of those shots on cage. Towson goalie Kiley Keating came up with eight saves, with several of them in key moments, including one as she was retreating to the cage on a Nittany Lions fastbreak chance.

Just because she's not in the crease, doesn't mean it isn't a save! What a heads-up play Keating after a miscue in transition. pic.twitter.com/pHeyBZdREl

— TU Women's Lacrosse (@Towson_WLAX) February 10, 2018

The Nittany Lions also had 18 free position shots in the game as compared to three for Towson, but converted just six of them. Towson was a perfect 3-for-3 on its opportunities.

Boston College Picks Up ACC Win

Starting its season on a road against a strong Atlantic Coast Conference opponent and a hot goaltender wasn't enough to slow up last year's national runner-up as Boston College downed Notre Dame 13-11.

Notre Dame goalie Samantha Giacolone finished the game with 15 saves, but Kaileen Hart (4g, 1a), Dempsey Arsenault (3g) and Sam Apuzzo (2g, 2a) did enough damage for the BC offense to pick up the win.

Hart's goal with 3:48 left in the first half gave BC its first lead of the game and then after Notre Dame's Jessi Masinko tied the game early in the second half, BC scored five goals in less than six minutes to take control. Apuzzo started that run with a goal and also had two assists in that span.

Nikki Ortega and Maddie Howe each had three goals and an assist for Notre Dame.

Navy Makes Statement

PHOTO BY PHIL HOFFMANN / NAVY ATHLETICS

A year after its Cinderella run to the final four, Navy opened its 2018 season with a 9-7 victory over Ohio State. Head coach Cindy Timchal and the Midshipmen are determined to prove that 2017 was not a fluke. Megan Schneider has more from Annapolis.

Strong Start Carries USC

PHOTO BY VIRGINIA TECH ATHLETICS

No. 8 USC held No. 20 Virginia Tech scoreless for the first 27 minutes of the game and used that strong start to post an 11-5 win in a game played indoor in Blacksburg, Va.

Trailing 5-0, Virginia Tech scored three times in a span of just 54 seconds late in the first hlaf to make it just 5-3 at the break. Tech trailed just 7-5 after Tristan McGinley's goal with 19:07 to play, but the Hokies went cold again, failing to beat USC goalie Gussie Johns in the final 19 minutes of the game.

Johns, a gold-medal winning goalie for the U.S. national team in the World Cup last summer, finished the game with nine saves. Sophomore Izzy McMahon paced the Trojan offense with three goals and two assists and Maeve McMahon, a graduate transfer from Harvard, was one of three USC players with two goals.

McGinley and Paige Petty each had two goals for Virginia Tech.

Games of Note

• No. 11 Northwestern got a hat trick from Danita Stroup to down Canisius 18-7. Selena Lasota, playing for the first time since missing the final 17 games last season with an injury, added two goals.

• Senior Nicole Barretta had a career-high eight points (4g, 4a) as Temple opened the season with a 12-8 victory at home against Rutgers.

• Six players had multiple goals, led by junior Taylor Gebhardt with four, as Georgetown outgunned St. Joseph's 18-15.

• Caitlin Concannon scored four goals as George Washington spoiled East Carolina's program debut, beating the Pirates 18-7.

• Wofford also suffered a loss in its program debut as Amanda Steinmuller had eight goals and two assists to lead Gardner-Webb to a 21-11 victory over the Terriers.

• Jamie DeWitt made four of her 11 saves on free position shots in overtime as Bucknell beat Robert Morris 5-4 on Mary Margaret Kenney's free position shot in the debut for new Bison head coach Remington Steele.

Nike / US Lacrosse Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 17 James Madison 15, No. 3 North Carolina 14 (2 OT)
Towson 14, No. 4 Penn State 13
No. 8 USC 11, No. 20 Virginia Tech 5
No. 9 Boston College 13, No. 14 Notre Dame 11
No. 10 Navy 9, Ohio State 7
No. 11 Northwestern 18, Canisius 7

Other Scores

Army West Point 12, Monmouth 9
Bucknell 5, Robert Morris 4 (OT)
Fairfield 14, Holy Cross 5
Gardner-Web 21, Wofford 11
George Washington 18, East Carolina 7
Georgetown 18, St. Joseph's 15
High Point 17, Furman 6
Lehigh 18,  St. Bonaventure 5
Liberty 14, Mercer 7
New Hampshire 14, Sacred Heart 2
Richmond 16, Campbell 5
Temple 12, Rutgers 8

Stanford at Denver, ppd. snow (Sunday, 12 p.m.)