Dukes Open Spring Campaign with Hard-Fought Draw

Sunday, February 21

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

0-0-1, 0-0-0

Liberty

0-1-1, 0-0-0

Liberty

James Madison

2/21/2021 7:16:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score @JMUWSoccer JMU WSoc on IG Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. - The James Madison women's soccer team battled back from a halftime deficit to earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Liberty on Sunday afternoon, as the Dukes finally kicked off their 2020-21 spring campaign.

The Dukes (0-0-1) trailed after a first-half goal, but took more control early in the second half to level things and held off a late flurry from the Flames (0-0-2) to earn the point.

Sophomore Melissa Hoffheins was stellar in goal in her first-ever start for the Dukes, racking up seven saves to preserve the draw, including a pair of late 1-on-1 stops to hold the Flames at one goal.

Senior Ebony Wiseman powered the offense for the Dukes, racking up four goals and producing the eventual match-tying goal. Freshman Lexi Vanderlinden and junior Hannah Coulling each added a pair of attempts, as did sophomore Lidia Nduka off the bench.

Meredith King and McKinley Burkett led the offense for Liberty, racking up four shots each, with King putting three on goal.

HOW THEY SCORED
Liberty
35' | Liberty struck on the counter to open the scoring, with Maddy Oliver playing a pass to Kasey Jamieson on the left side of the box and Jamieson finishing back across frame to go up 1-0.
JMU
56' | The Dukes got the equalizer the were chasing before the hour mark, with Wiseman posting up a defender before turning and firing a low pass across the face of goal, only to see a Liberty defender deflect the pass in to make it 1-1.

QUOTING COACH WALTERS
"It felt great to watch my team play today! Our thanks go out to our facilities and game operations for making today possible.

Today, we looked like a team playing our first match in a year, but there were some great moments that have me excited about this team. This first match is our starting point and I can't wait to see where this journey will take us. I thought Melissa was fantastic in goal, Lexi was so dynamic moving around the field and Annie came off the bench to play really well."

UP NEXT
The Dukes are next scheduled to be in action in three weeks, traveling to Towson on Sunday, March 14 for a 3 p.m. matchup.