Lombardo Earns 400th Career Win in 3-2 Double-Overtime Thriller

Friday, September 16

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

3-6-0

VCU

3-4-1

OT 1

OT 2

VCU

James Madison

Lombardo Earns 400th Career Win in 3-2 Double-Overtime Thriller

9/16/2016 11:38:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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HARRISONBURG, Va. - Senior forward Ashley Herndon buried a goal in the fourth minute of the second overtime period to lift James Madison to a 3-2 victory over VCU in non-conference women's soccer action on Friday night at Sentara Park, marking the 400th career victory for Head Coach David Lombardo.

The Dukes, who improved to 3-6 with their third win in five matches, controlled the match throughout, racking up 21 shots to VCU's six as the Rams dropped to 3-4-1 in the loss. With the victory, Lombardo became the seventh Division I coach in NCAA history--and just the 14th coach overall--to reach the 400-win milestone.

Herndon continued her offensive tear, scoring her fourth and fifth goals of the season on a seven-shot evening that saw her put five attempts on frame. Senior Allison Bortell and freshman Haley Crawford each added a pair of shots on goal, with Crawford picking up the third and fourth assists of her first collegiate season.

After the Rams erased a 2-0 JMU lead to force a pair of overtime periods, Crawford got free on a breakaway in the 104th minute. Her shot was saved by VCU goalkeeper Audrey Sanderson, but Herndon was waiting in the middle of the box and buried her second rebound of the match to give the Dukes the win.

JMU held the advantage from the jump, with sophomore Stephanie Hendrie missing a goal by inches in the second minute of the match when her 20-yard shot hit the crossbar and deflected off the keeper before trickling out of bounds. Senior Allison Bortell made the 1-0 lead official in the 17th minute, picking up a loose ball in traffic after a corner kick and poking home a shot from six yards out.

Herndon doubled the Dukes' advantage just 1:18 after halftime, pouncing on a rebound after senior Sydney Braun-McLeod hit the crossbar with her own shot and firing home a shot from 10 yards out to make it 2-0.

VCU erased JMU's lead with a pair of goals later in the second half, forcing a pair of overtime periods before Crawford and Herndon combined to seal the win with 6:50 on the clock.

The Dukes' defense, marshalled by Bortell and freshman Lizzy Lazzaro in the center, kept VCU out of the attacking third for most of the match. Junior Maggie Buxton was not forced to make a save across her 45 minutes in goal, while freshman Hannah McShea, who played the final 58:10, needed just a pair of saves to secure the victory.

QUOTING COACH LOMBARDO
"We had a great effort from the whole team tonight. VCU was a solid team and really gave us a good game. I was very proud of the way our team was able to dig down and pull out a great win. It was definitely a very memorable way to reach 400 wins!"

PLAY OF THE MATCH

Senior forward Ashley Herndon buried this rebound in the second overtime period to give the Dukes their 3-2 win over VCU and pick up the 400th victory of Head Coach Dave Lombardo's career.

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS
With two goals on Sunday, senior forward Ashley Herndon continued her march up the JMU career record books.

Goals: 5th, 31; (4th, 34; Kim Argy, 2001-05)
Assists: 6th, 25; Cate Tisinger, 2007-10 (5th, 27: Samantha Andersch, 1993-96)
Points: 6th, 86 (t-4th, 93: Julie Reule, 1991-94; Teresa Rynier, 2007-10)

TWEET OF THE MATCH

That win is the 400th win of Head Coach Dave Lombardo's head coaching career! Congratulations, Coach!! pic.twitter.com/eXKXu1m5wg
— JMU Women's Soccer (@JMUWSoccer) September 17, 2016

UP NEXT
The Dukes will kick off their Colonial Athletic Association slate next weekend, when they hit the road for a pair of matches. JMU heads to Williamsburg, Va. to face William & Mary on Friday, Sept 23, at 7 p.m. before traveling south to Elon for a 1 p.m. bout on Sunday, Sept. 25.