Brace from Robles Helps Dukes Advance Past Pitt

Thursday, November 16

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

9-4-5, 4-2-3

Pitt

6-7-4, 2-3-3

James Madison

Pittsburgh

11/16/2023 11:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Redshirt senior Rodrigo Robles scored the first James Madison brace in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship since 2018 to help the Dukes advance past Pitt in the first round, 3-2, on Thursday night at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

The Dukes earned their first win in the NCAA Championship since 2018 and improved their record to 9-4-5 with their fifth win in six matches. The Panthers ended their season at 6-7-4.

The attack of JMU tied its most goals scored in an NCAA Championship match, marking the fourth time scoring three goals. Robles recorded the fourth brace of his JMU career and fourth overall in his collegiate career, while redshirt junior Alex Krakowiak netted his first career goal. In goal, sophomore Sebastian Conlon recorded a pair of saves.

How It Happened

The Dukes got out to an early lead in the 12^th minute on a Pitt miscue. As goalkeeper Cabral Carter attempted to send a pass to a teammate, Krakowiak intercepted the pass at the top of the 18 and just needed two touches to get JMU on the board.
Little time was wasted by Pitt to equalize, scoring in the 16^th minute.
Just under two and a half minutes later after Pitt's equalizing goal, Robles scored his first goal of the evening to put JMU back in front. A through ball from sophomore Kevin Larsson set Robles up inside the 18, where the All-Sun Belt Second Teamer evaded defending panthers to net the goal.
Pitt once again responded quickly, scoring on a rebound off a Conlon save to equalize.
Robles netted his second goal of the match to give JMU the lead for good in the 57^th minute, cheekily flicking the ball inside the six over Carter off a pass from freshman Luca Nikolai.
In the 71^st minute, Jackson Gilman was assessed a red card for committing a foul on a goal scoring opportunity, giving the Dukes a man up advantage for the remaining 19:48 of regulation.
The Dukes held the Panthers to three shots in the second half, not allowing any to be put on goal.

Quick Facts

Rodrigo Robles recorded the first JMU brace since Manuel Ferriol in the NCAA Championship since 2018, as Ferriol also recorded his in the first round.
Robles is the first Duke to score in four straight matches since Luca Erhardt in 2021 and the first to record a point in six consecutive matches since Ferriol in 2019.
JMU earned its third straight win over an ACC opponent in the NCAA Championship, knocking off North Carolina and Virginia Tech during its quarterfinals run in 2018.

Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
"That was a good college soccer match. We have the utmost respect for Pitt and Jay and his staff. We knew it was going to be a battle and I'm just proud of the whole group for tonight and thought they played really well. There was a moment there where I thought to myself it might be a 6-5 game, but we weathered the storm, settled down and played a composed second half. Very proud of the guys and their efforts for getting a win."

Up Next
The Dukes will stay on the road for the second round as they meet Georgetown in a rematch of their regular season meeting. The Hoyas are the third seed in the tournament field and are ranked third in the nation, with the contest taking place on Sunday, Nov. 19 at noon.