HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison exploded for four second-half goals on Sunday afternoon as the Dukes eclipsed Providence in a 4-0 non-conference women's soccer decision at Sentara Park. The win bumped the Dukes to 1-1 after their opening weekend of play.
Sophomores
Haley Crawford and
Phoebe Dinga and juniors
Christine Tack and
Brittany Borum all found the back of the net for JMU, turning a scoreless tie into a 4-0 advantage across just 21:01 as part of a 13-shot second half.
HOW THEY SCORED
56' | Crawford struck first for the Dukes, tackling the ball away from a defender before taking a dribble and firing a low shot to the far post that tucked itself into the side netting to put JMU up, 1-0.
67' | Tack doubled the advantage on the other side of the hour mark when she ran onto a bouncing ball, shrugged off a pair of defenders and tucked a shot under a diving goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
69' | Dinga needed fewer than three minutes to make it 3-0, as junior
Steffi Page laid off a pass on the right wing that Dinga needed just one touch to chip over the keeper and under the crossbar from 15 yards.
77' | Borum capped the scoring explosion eight minutes later after a lengthy buildup. Senior
Colleen Gawkins did the yeoman's work, fighting through three defenders up the right wing and playing a quick combination with freshman
Ginger Deel before hitting a first-touch shot across frame. The attempt caught the left post square, but the rebound fell to Borum, who had an easy finish from six yards.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
MATCH NOTES
-The Dukes' four-goal explosion marked JMU's most goals in a single game since an identical 4-0 scoreline in a win over UNCW on Oct. 16 last season.
- JMU outshot Providence 18-7, including a 13-5 advantage in the second half and an eye-popping 11-1 overall lead in shots on goal.
- Sophomore goalkeeper
Olivia Miller needed to make just one save across her 77 minutes of play, while sophomore
Hannah McShea was untroubled as she closed out the final 13 minutes.
- Nine different Dukes notched at least a shot on the afternoon, led by Crawford's four and three each from Gawkins and junior
Carmen Thomas.
QUOTING COACH LOMBARDO
"We put together an impressive second half today. We moved the ball quicker and found our way into Providence's final third before their defense could get organized."
"On the whole, it was a pretty successful weekend for this young team. They are beginning to see how good they can be when they play hard together."
UP NEXT
The Dukes stay at home this week for a pair of contests at Sentara Park. Villanova travels to Harrisonburg for a 7 p.m. bout on Thursday, August 24, before JMU welcomes Richmond on Sunday, August 27, at 7 p.m.