Dukes Prepare for NCAA First Round Match with Pitt

Thursday, November 16

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

Pitt

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11/15/2023 10:30:00 AM | Men's Soccer

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison prepares for a first-round matchup with Pitt as it makes its fourth appearance in six seasons in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

Who: James Madison Dukes (8-4-5, 4-2-3 SBC) at Pitt Panthers (6-6-4, 2-3-3 ACC)
What: First Round of the 2023 NCAA Championship
Where: Ambrose Urbanic Field – Pittsburgh, Pa.
When: Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.
How to Watch: ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN app (subscription required)
How to Follow: JMUStats.com
Know More: JMU Match Notes
Social Media: @JMUMSoccer, #GoDukes, #NCAASoccer

Scouting the Dukes

James Madison is making its 16th appearance in the national tournament after an at-large selection. It had its four-match winning streak to close out the regular season snapped as it fell to Kentucky, 2-1, in the Sun Belt Quarterfinals.
Five Dukes are in double-digits in points, led the way by Rodrigo Robles' 20 points from his seven goals and six assists, both highs on the side. Cameron Arnold and Clay Obara have taken the most shots with 33, but Obara has landed the most on goal, putting 23 on frame.
Sebastian Conlon has spent 1495:04 between the posts this season, posting a GAA of 1.26 with 45 saves to his name. He has two solo shutouts and two combined shutouts.

Scouting the Panthers

Pitt will be hosting an opening round NCAA match for the third straight season. It is winless in its last three matches and have dropped its last two after falling 6-0 at Notre Dame to close the regular season and then losing 2-1 in overtime against Louisville in the first round of the ACC Championship.
The Panthers have multiple players leading the attack. Luis Sahmkow is the side leader in both goals and points at six and 12, respectively. All-ACC First Teamer Filip Mirkovic leads the side in assists and ranks second in the ACC and 13th in the nation with nine. Mirkovic also leads the side with 25 shots while Guilherme Feitosa has put a team-leading 13 shots on goal.
Cabrel Carter has spent all 1,460 minutes this season in goal for Pitt, making 56 saves while posting a GAA of 1.48. He has recorded six shutouts this season.

All-Time Series

James Madison and Pitt have met twice prior to this postseason matchup, with the Dukes winning both matches.
Both meetings were early regular season neutral sited matches.
JMU won 2-0 in the first meeting on Sept. 17, 2010 in the Big East Partner Weekend, hosted by West Virginia, before earning a second victory by the score of 1-0 on Aug. 27, 2017. The second match was played at Ohio State.

Honors Won in the Sun Belt Conference

JMU had four representatives on the All-Sun Belt Teams with a pair of selections on both the First Team and Second Team.
Clay Obara and Luca Nikolai were selected to the First Team as a midfielder and a defender, respectively. Rodrigo Robles was a Second Team selection as a forward while Kevin Larsson earned a Second Team nod as a midfielder.

Dance the Night Away

The Dukes are making their 16th appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship and their first appearance since winning the 2020 CAA title.
It is the first at-large bid for JMU into the national tournament since 2011 and eighth overall in program history.
One of the three Elite Eight runs by JMU, the furthest the Dukes have reached in the tournament, came on an at-large bid in 1995

Offense is Burnin' Up

JMU's offense has been prolific this season as it ranks eighth nationally in shot accuracy (0.504), 10th in shots on goal per game (7.00), 12th in assists per game (2.35), 13th in points per game (6.65) and assists (40), 14th in scoring offense (2.18) and 25th in goal differential (16).
It is the first time since 2004 that the Dukes are averaging at least two goals per game. The average of 2.18 goals per game is the most for JMU since averaging 2.23 goals per game in 2000. The Dukes have scored in 15 of 17 matches this season, scoring multiple goals in 10 matches.
A total of 12 Dukes have recorded an assist this season, with three Dukes recording at least five assists for the first time since 2004. The 40 total assists are the most in a season since recording 41 in 2000.

James Madison FC

With both soccer programs for JMU earning bids into each respected NCAA Championships, it becomes the third time that both programs played NCAA postseason competition in the same season ever.
The first season where both programs made an NCAA appearance in the same season was in 1995 when the women's soccer side won the CAA title and the men's soccer side earned an at-large bid. Both sides returned in 1996, as each received an at-large bid. That season marked the first and only time that each side received an at-large bid until this season.
James Madison and North Carolina are the only schools in the country this season that have had both soccer programs make an NCAA appearance while having their football and men's basketball teams currently ranked in each respected AP Top 25 Poll.

Making History in the Sun Belt

JMU is one of five Sun Belt teams that earned a bid into this season's NCAA Championship, a new record for the league.
Three of the five bids given out to the Sun Belt were seeds, as Marshall was named the top seed followed by No. 5 West Virginia and No. 12 UCF. JMU and Kentucky were the two unseeded teams from the Sun Belt.

Looking Ahead

The winner between JMU and Pitt will head to the nation's capital on Sunday, Nov. 19 to take on Georgetown, ranked third in the country and the three seed in the NCAA Championship, in a noon match in the second round.