Dukes Begin Season with Win Over Duquesne Behind Brace from Larsson

Thursday, August 24

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:30 p.m.

James Madison University

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Duquesne

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Duquesne

James Madison

Dukes Begin Season with Win Over Duquesne Behind Brace from Larsson

8/24/2023 11:18:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Behind the first brace of sophomore Kevin Larsson's career, James Madison men's soccer (1-0) began the season in the win column with a 3-1 result over Duquesne (0-1) on Thursday evening at Sentara Park.

Much of the offense ran through Larsson and graduate Clay Obara, as the two combined for nine shots with seven on goal. Larsson's six shots were a new career-high, as JMU as a team took 12 shots with nine on goal. Classmate Sebastian Conlon played all 90 minutes in goal and made five saves, while the defense came up with two more.

Obara netted the first goal of the season in the 12^th minute before Larsson doubled the lead in the 16^th minute. Larsson notched the brace in the 30^th minute. Duquesne got on the board in the 57^th minute.

How It Happened

Obara took the first shot of the match in the fifth minute before following it up with the first goal of the season. Junior Enrique Garcia Barelles sent a through pass to redshirt junior Evan Southern who then dribbled into the box before handing it off to Obara who found the bottom right of the goal.
In the 15^th minute, Larsson had back-to-back shots blocked but was able to finally break through 58 seconds later to make the score 2-0. Southern passed the ball to freshman Luca Nikolai in the box who quickly sent it back to Southern to find Larsson in the middle of the box for a goal. The second assist from Southern tied his career-high in a match.
JMU took a 3-0 lead in the 30^th minute on Larsson's second goal of the match. Redshirt junior Yanis Lelin made a quick pass off his free kick from the side of the box where Larsson just need one touch above the box to find the back of the net.
Duquesne got on the board using a free kick as well in the 57^th minute. Grant McIntosh fired the kick into the box where Jayden Da headed the ball to Cameron Territo who found the net to make the score 3-1.
The visitors had multiple attempts to find the net, putting 12 shots up in the second half. In the 88^th minute, Duquesne was able to put three shots on goal all within six feet of the goal, but Conlon came up with two saves and was helped by redshirt Jordan McMillen to save the final try.

Quick Facts

The three first half goals for JMU were the most in the first half since Oct. 6, 2021 against Mount St. Mary's.
The two teams combined for 26 shots in the match, 14 from Duquesne and 12 from JMU.

Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
"Our goal at the start of the game was to be 1-0 and we accomplished that goal. There were some really great moments in the first half, and we played some of our best soccer in a while. Duquesne is tough and they're never going to give up and are always in the game, but we were able to finish out the match and accomplish our goal of starting 1-0."

Up Next
JMU closes out the Fairfield by Marriott Invitational with a match against UCLA at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 27 at Sentara Park. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.