Dukes and Gaels Draw In Season Opener

Friday, August 28

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:30 p.m.

James Madison University

0-0-1

Iona

0-0-1

OT 3

OT 4

Iona

James Madison

8/28/2015 10:47:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Physical play by both sides led to six combined cards during a tough, double-overtime 1-1 tie between the James Madison men's soccer team and Iona on a beautfiul Friday night at University Park. Both teams advance to the second day of the Fairfield Inn by Marriott JMU Invitational on Sunday with a record of 0-0-1.

Redshirt sophomore defender Toby Appleton opened the scoring with a strike in the 16th minute as senior midfielder Michael Russo laid the ball off to Appleton, who cut to his right and fired from 25 yards out to score his first of the season.

Marcos Nunez answered with the equalizer in the 58th minute following a Daniel Orcana Garcia through ball, giving him a tight angle on the left side of the goal. Nunez placed the ball in the roof of the net, out of reach of Madison's redshirt junior goalkeeper Kyle Morton, to tie the game at one apiece.

In the 89th minute, Iona's Joshua Calderon received a red card, leaving the Gaels with only 10 men for the remainder of the match. The Dukes were unable to take advantage of the 11-10 man advantage as both teams battled for the final minute of regulation and 20 minutes of extra time to a draw.

Coach's Quote
"I've got to give our guys credit. They battled through a lot of different types of adversity tonight and continued to give themselves chances to win the match."

Turning Point
The dynamics of the match changed dramatically following Joshua Calderon's red card in the 89th minute. The Gaels were forced to play deep in their own third of the field with only 10 men at their disposal. This slowed down play considerably and limited the Dukes' chances for a break-through goal.

Noteworthy
Toby Appleton's goal was only the third of his career and first since scoring in the Dukes' come-from-behind victory over West Virignia on September 23, 2014. The defender will look to continue going forward with the offense and scoring goals from his left-back position where he played tonight.

Breakthrough Performance
Several freshmen made thier collegiate debut for the Dukes tonight including Aaron Ward-Baptiste, Austin Pelto, Thomas Shores and Jordan Forrester. Shores and Forrester made an especially impressive debut with the two switching off on free kick and corner kick duties throughout the match.

Up Next
JMU returns to University Park on Sunday to continue the Fairfield Inn by Marriott JMU Invitational. The Dukes will take on Dayton at 2:30 p.m. following a noon meeting of Radford and Iona.