Dukes Battle In 2-0 Loss at Virginia

Tuesday, September 15

Charlottesville, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

0-4-1

Virginia

3-0-2

James Madison

Virginia

9/15/2015 9:22:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The James Madison men's soccer team fell to defending national champion Virginia, 2-0, in front of 1,245 spectators at Klockner Stadium on Tuesday night.

With the Cavaliers (3-0-2) playing methodically out of the gate, the Dukes were able to play at their own tempo. Heavy pressure in UVa's defensive third of the field led James Madison (0-4-1) to see several good chances stopped by goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell.

Virginia finally broke the scoreless tie in the 38^th minute. After a clearance past the goal line, the Cavaliers' corner kick, taken by Patrick Foss, was headed by Edward Opoku to Jake Rozhansky for his second goal of the season.

The Cavaliers then doubled the lead in the 84^th minute to seal the victory.

The best chance for JMU came in the 52^nd minute when senior forward Eric Schmidt's header attempt rang off the post, leaving the Dukes inches from finding their equalizing goal.

JMU went shot-for-shot with Virginia as both teams got 13 shots off. The Dukes also earned more set-piece opportunities with six corner kicks to the Cavaliers' five.

Noteworthy
Senior Eric Schmidt (3), sophomore Joe Vyner (2), redshirt junior Tom Fouhy (2) and redshirt sophomore Toby Appleton (2) each attempted two or more shots in the contest, giving the Dukes four players to reach that mark in a single game for the first time this season.

Senior Spotlight
Following his collegiate debut against West Virginia last Friday, senior goalkeeper Andres Neira made his first collegiate start against the fifth-ranked Cavaliers. The Bogota, Colombia native made five saves to keep the Dukes within striking distance.

Coach's Quote
"I have to give a lot of credit to our guys," said head coach Tom Foley. "Virginia is a very good team and our guys came out to play and did a pretty good job against them."

Next Up
The Dukes continue the 2015 campaign Friday night when the Liberty Flames visit Harrisonburg. First kick is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at University Park following the women's soccer match against Richmond at 5 p.m.