Dukes Open Up NCAA Championship at No. 7 Seed South Carolina

HARRISONBURG, Va. – In its first appearance in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship since 2015, James Madison will open up by taking on 16^th-ranked South Carolina, the seventh seed in the bottom right quadrant of the bracket, on Friday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. inside Stone Stadium.

Who: James Madison Dukes (9-4-8, 4-1-5 SBC) at #16 South Carolina Gamecocks (11-2-6, 5-0-5 SEC)
What: First Round of the 2023 NCAA Championship
Where: Stone Stadium – Columbia, S.C.
When: Friday, Nov. 10 at 6 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: @JMUWSoccer, #GoDukes, #NCAASoccer

Scouting the Dukes

James Madison is heading to the national tournament for the 12th time in program history after advancing to the Sun Belt Conference Championship final for a second straight season, falling to Old Dominion, 2-1, in overtime.
Suwaibatu Mohammed leads the side in goals and points with seven and 19, respectively. She is tied with Shea Collins for the assists lead, with five. Mohammed also leads the side with 40 shots, while Amanda Attanasi has 22 shots on goal.
Alexandra Blom has spent 1819:10 in goal for the Dukes and has made 69 saves with a GAA of 0.79. She has nine solo shutouts to her name this season with two combined shutouts.

Scouting the Gamecocks:

South Carolina had its 11-match unbeaten streak snapped after falling to Texas A&M in the SEC Quarterfinals, 1-0. A 79th minute goal was the deciding factor.
The attack of the Gamecocks runs through Catherine Berry, as she leads the side in assists (five), goals (nine), points (23), shots on goal (36) and shots (72).
SC has had three goalkeepers spend time in goal this season, with Heather Hinz spending the majority of time at 1,440 minutes. She has a GAA of 0.50 with 51 saves and has recorded nine shutouts.

All-Time Series

James Madison and South Carolina have met two prior times before, splitting the matchups.
The last time the sides met was in Columbia on Sept. 3, 2006. SC won that match 3-1.
The first meeting between JMU and SC was on Aug. 29, 2004 in Harrisonburg where the Dukes won 3-2 in double overtime.
This will be the first time JMU will face a ranked South Carolina squad.

Awards from the Sun Belt

For the third consecutive season, the Dukes had at least three all-conference nods. Suwaibatu Mohammed earned All-Sun Belt Conference First Team honors, while Alba Fernández Almagro and Brittany Munson were tabbed to the Second Team.
Three JMU players earned spots on the Sun Belt Championship All-Tournament Team. Munson was joined by Alexandra Blom and Jeanette Fieldsend.

Dukes Want to Dance with Somebody

JMU ends an eight-year drought from the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, making its first appearance since the 2015 season.
The Dukes earned their eighth at-large bid in program history and first since 2008, as they had an RPI of 39 and went 1-2-2 against the top 50. This is JMU's 12^th overall NCAA appearance, going 9-11 in the prior 11 appearances.
JMU has reached the Round of 16 three times in program history, getting to the furthest point of the tournament in program history in 1995, 1996 and 2008.
This will be the third time that the Dukes will take on a seeded team in the opening round after facing third-seeded Virginia in 2004 and third-seeded Duke in 2015.

It Means More (Duke Dog's Version)

JMU will take on a foe from the Southeast Conference for the first time since playing at LSU in 2019.
JMU has faced off against 11 sides from the SEC, although the lone match against Texas A&M was while the Aggies were in the Southwest Conference. Including the match against Texas A&M, a 2-1 win in 1991, the Dukes are 9-7 against the SEC.
With the Gamecocks ranked 16^th in the country, this will be the fifth time the Dukes will face a ranked SEC side. JMU is 2-2, with both wins being against Vanderbilt when it was ranked No. 18 in both 1996 and 1997.
This will be the third time the Dukes have faced an SEC opponent in the NCAA Championship. The last time was in the 2008 first round against Georgia, taking down the Bulldogs 1-0. The inaugural meeting was in the 1998 round of 32 where JMU fell to #3 Florida.

Moving Up the Ranks

Amanda Attanasi sits tied for 20^th with 18 goals and tied for 24^th with 46 points, while Lexi Vanderlinden has 15 assists to sit tied for 20^th.
Alexandra Blom is in sole possession of second in solo shutouts (23) and fourth for total shutouts (28), while her 244 saves have her sixth in program history. Her current 0.965 goals against average is the lowest for a career.

What's Next

The winner will take on the winner of 3^rd-ranked Stanford, the second seed in the bottom right quadrant of the bracket, and Pepperdine on Friday, Nov. 19.

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