Herndon's 56th Minute Strike Lifts Dukes Over Drexel

Sunday, October 4

Philadelphia, Pa.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

9-4, 3-0CAA

Drexel

7-6, 1-3CAA

James Madison

Drexel

10/4/2015 4:16:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Junior forward Ashley Herndon's goal in the 56th minute lifted the James Madison women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Colonial Athletic Association rival Drexel at Vidas Field on Sunday afternoon.

Collecting a loose ball, Herndon took a strong, penetrating dribble forward and fired a right-footed shot from 18 yards out to score her ninth goal of the season.

The Dukes (9-4, 3-0 CAA) once again found a way to win in a fairly even game. Drexel (7-6, 1-3 CAA) held a slim 12-11 lead in shots, but JMU led 7-6 in shots on goal and both senior goalkeeper Ellen Forrest and Drexel's Kelsie Fye tallied six saves. "Ellen had an unbelievable weekend," said head coach David Lombardo. "She's doing exactly what we expect her, as a fifth-year senior, to do for us."

The Drexel attack consisted mainly of shots from distance. Late in the first half, a scrum in front of the goal resulted in a toe-poke into the net, but the goal was disallowed due to an offsides call.

The Dukes return to action on Friday, October 9th at 7 p.m. when the Northeastern Huskies travel to Harrisonburg.

RISING THE RECORD BOARDS
Ashley Herndon celebrated her 21st birthday and scored the 21st goal of her career on Sunday. The two points gives her 61 in her career at JMU, good enough to tie Tasha Ellis for 13th in program history.

NOTEWORTHY
Now 3-0, this season marks the first time that the Dukes have gone undefeated in the first three games of conference play since 2007, when they started 5-0-1. They are now the only team in the CAA without a loss in league matches.

QUOTING COACH LOMBARDO
"It was a great weekend," Lombardo continued. "Six points on the road is hard to come by in this conference, but the leadership on this team is stepping up and we're continuing to find ways to win."

NEXT UP
Northeastern currently holds a record of 9-4-1 (2-1-1) and is coming off of a 3-2 overtime win at home against UNCW. The Dukes are 6-7-0 all-time against the Huskies.