HUNTINGTON, W.V. — Playing very undermanned due to illnesses and card accumulations, James Madison fell on the road to fifth-ranked Marshall, 2-0, in the regular-season finale on Tuesday night in Sun Belt Conference men's soccer at Hoops Family Field.Â
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The Dukes had their six-match unbeaten streak snapped, falling to 6-7-4, 2-3-3 SBC, while Marshall moved to 10-2-3, 3-1-3 SBC.Â
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Redshirt sophomore Ethan Taylor led the way for the JMU attack, taking four shots with three on goal. Freshman Sebastian Conlon made two saves in goal.Â
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How It Happened
- The Marshall offense create opportunities often in the first half, leading to only two shots on goal.Â
- Taylor attempted shots in the 12th and 19th minutes, but had both saved.Â
- In the 44th minute, Marshall found the net on its ninth shot of the game, coming from Matthew Bell, who came in tied for the league lead in goals.Â
- The Dukes had an equalizing chance 43 seconds into the second half, as a touch by freshman Cameron Arnold gave redshirt junior Clay Obara space in the box to get the keeper out of position. The ball was sent over to Taylor, who took the shot but a Thundering Herd defender stood in the way of the shot and the goal line.Â
- Marshall increased its lead to 2-0 in the 54th minute on a Joao Souza goal.Â
- Conlon in the 66th minute made his second save. It was the last shot the defense allowed from Marshall.Â
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Game Notes
- Marshall outshot JMU 15-8, but only matched the Dukes' four shots on goal.Â
- JMU produced an 8-1 advantage on corner kicks.Â
- The Dukes had seven offside calls.Â
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Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
"Tonight we played well in stints and had a solid amount of quality chances we didn't finish. We conceded a goal to close the first half and open up the second half, which is tough to rebound from. Marshall is a good side and are deserving of their ranking."
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Up Next
The Dukes will enter the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Championship as the seventh seeded team. They will face Marshall, the two-seed, in a rematch on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. on ESPN+. The match will be played at Hoops Family Field, as Marshall will host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of its side of the bracket due to being a two-seed.