Dukes Drop 2-0 Decision at Penn State

Tuesday, September 8

University Park, Pa.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

0-2-1

Penn State

2-1-1

James Madison

Penn State

9/8/2015 8:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State scored a goal in each half to record a 2-0 victory over James Madison in a non-conference men's soccer contest on Tuesday night at Jeffrey Field. The Dukes fell to 0-2-1 on the season while the Nittany Lions improved to 2-1-0.

After back-and-forth play kept the game scoreless for the first 25 minutes, the Nittany Lions broke through in the 26^th. Kyle MacDonald played a ball into the box to freshman standout Mac Curran, who slotted the shot home into the bottom-left corner of the net to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.

The Nittany Lions then doubled their lead in the 65^th minute following a foul call on JMU several yards outside the box. PSU's Brian James stepped up to take the free kick and hit the ball with his right foot, past the wall of James Madison defenders and a diving Kyle Morton, into the back of the net.

The Dukes best chance came in the 77^th minute. A ball over the top of the Penn State defense came directly to senior forward Eric Schmidt who headed the ball on goal, but goalkeeper Matt Bersano calmly made the save.

Several statistical categories came close to even in the contest. Penn State outshot the Dukes 10-9 while James Madison tallied three saves to PSU's two.

Coach's Quote
"We started the game well. I thought we had strong combination play tonight to get forward and create more chances," Head Coach Tom Foley said. "We were down 1-0 at half, but we came out with renewed energy and effort in the second half. Despite things not going our way, we fought hard and worked hard for all 90 minutes."

Noteworthy
Eric Schmidt took a season- and career-high four shots including two shots on goal to lead the James Madison attack.

Tweet of the Game

Good luck to @JMUMSoccer as they take on Penn State today! #GoDukes
— JMU Duke Club (@JMUDukeClub) September 8, 2015

Next Up
The Dukes return to action on Friday, September 11th when they travel to Morgantown, W.Va. to take on the Mountaineers who sit at 1-3-0 on the season. Start time is currently scheduled for 7 p.m.