Dukes Top Richmond For Third Straight Win

Sunday, August 27

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

3-1

Richmond

0-2

Richmond

James Madison

8/27/2017 11:09:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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HARRISONBURG, Va. - Sophomore Haley Crawford headed home a goal with just 3:35 to play on Sunday night to give James Madison a 2-1 victory in non-conference women's soccer action at Sentara Park. The win, JMU's third in a row, lifted the Dukes to 3-1 on the year, while Richmond fell to 0-2.

Crawford's goal came just 27 seconds after the Spiders had equalized deep into the match, one the Dukes had dominated with an 18-6 advantage in shots. Sophomore Lizzy Lazzaro had JMU's other goal, snapping the deadlock with a free kick in the 78th minute.

HOW THEY SCORED
Richmond
86' | The Spiders levelled the contest at 1-1 with just 4:02 left, using a throw-in deep in JMU territory to set up a low cross that Alyssa Walker was able to push into the next from just eight yards out.
JMU
78' | Lazzaro opened the scoring late in the match, scoring her third goal of the season on a free kick from about 25 yards out. The sophomore fired a low shot through traffic that tucked itself just inside the left post to break the tie and put JMU up, 1-0.
87' | Only 27 seconds after Richmond had tied things up, Crawford used her third goal of the season to give JMU the victory, reading a cross from junior Hailey Stein and nodding home the game-winner off the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper.

MATCH NOTES
- The Dukes spent the vast majority of the contest on the attack, racking up 18 shots to Richmond's six, including a 9-1 margin in the opening half. JMU also put seven shots on frame to the Spiders' three.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Miller needed to make just two saves in the win, including a diving stop to push a free kick over the crossbar with less than five seconds on the clock, preserving the Dukes' victory.
- All three of Lazzaro's 2017 goals have come from free kicks, with Sunday evening's marking the shortest of the three. Both other tallies were long-range attempts from near or beyond midfield.
- Sunday's win marked the 700th career match for Head Coach David Lombardo. The victory raised his career record to 409-248-43 across 28 years at JMU (579 matches; 331-213-35) and seven at Keene State (121; 78-35-8).
- JMU's start marks the first time the Dukes have opened a season 3-1 since the 2014 campaign, which saw them go 12-8 with a 7-2 mark in Colonial Athletic Association play.

QUOTING COACH LOMBARDO
"This was just another JMU-Richmond battle. We played very well all night, but struggled with our finishing touch. Lizzy Lazzaro scored a great free kick, but full credit to Richmond for battling back. This team has shown signs of maturing over the last four games and scoring the game-winner just 27 seconds later showed me their will to win! I'm very proud of them for that."

UP NEXT
The Dukes hit the road next weeks for matches at Arkansas and Tulsa, their first two road contests of the season. JMU faces the Razorbacks in Fayetteville on Friday, Sept. 1, before taking on Tulsa on Sunday, Sept. 3.