James Madison women defeat College of Charleston 1-0 on Sunday
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Via James Madison University) – Junior defender Jennie Sroba broke through with a goal in the 80th minute on Sunday afternoon to give the James Madison women’s soccer team a 1-0 victory against Colonial Athletic Association foe College of Charleston at Patriots Point Athletic Complex.
Senior forward Alyssa Zurlo found space on the right side of the field and charged forward before sending a cross into the 18-yard box. The cross connected with Sroba who took a single touch, fired a left-footed shot and slotted home the game-winning goal.
Offensive chances were even throughout, with the Dukes (10-6-1, 4-2-1) holding a slim 11-9 lead in shots. JMU also held the advantage in shots on goal at 6-2, while the Cougars (8-8-1, 2-5-1 CAA) led 6-1 on corner kick opportunities.
College of Charleston goalkeeper Lauren Killian did well to keep the Cougars in the game with five saves on the day while JMU’s redshirt senior goalkeeper Ellen Forrest earned her seventh shutout of the season.
The Dukes return to action in the penultimate game of the 2015 regular season when the Elon Phoenix come to Harrisonburg on Friday, Oct. 23. The game is set to begin at 7 p.m. at University Park.
PIVOTAL MOMENT
In the 16th minute, the Cougars had an excellent chance to go ahead early, but were unable to capitalize. A precision through ball allowed Charleston’s Riley Narum to dribble past the final JMU defender and Forrest, who had come off of her line. With the net open, Narum fired a right-footed shot from just outside the box, but missed wide left.
COACH’S QUOTE
“Every win on the road is important in this conference,” head coach David Lombardo said. “This win ensures us a winning season and keeps us in contention for a good seed in the CAA tournament.”
WHAT IT MEANS
With the win, the Dukes sit in fourth place in the Colonial Athletic Association behind Hofstra (5-1-1 CAA), UNCW (5-2-1 CAA) and Northeastern (4-2-1 CAA) with two games remaining.
NOTEWORTHY
The Dukes managed to find a game-winning goal late, but if the game had progressed into overtime, it would have marked the first time JMU played back-to-back overtime matches since Oct. 14 and 16, 2011.
LOOKING AHEAD
James Madison defeated Elon, 1-0 on Oct. 26, 2014 during overtime on the only meeting between the two programs. The Phoenix enter next Friday’s contest with a 1-4-1 record in the CAA and 9-5-2 overall after losing 2-1 in double overtime to Drexel on Sunday.
