Cohesive Offensive Attack Propels Dukes to 4-0 Victory at Radford

Friday, September 1

Radford, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

3-0-0, 0-0-0

Radford

0-2-1, 0-0-0

James Madison

Radford

Cohesive Offensive Attack Propels Dukes to 4-0 Victory at Radford

9/1/2023 10:35:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

RADFORD, Va. – Led by redshirt senior Rodrigo Robles and redshirt junior Yanis Lelin, No. 17 James Madison men's soccer used four different goal scorers and six different assisters in its 4-0 victory over Radford on Friday night at Patrick D. Cupp Memorial Stadium in non-conference action.

The Dukes improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2010 while the Highlanders dropped to 0-2-1.

Robles and Lelin each had a goal and an assist, while redshirt junior Davide Materazzi and sophomore Kevin Larsson also contributed goals. JMU now has eight goals through its first three matches of the season, the most through the first three matches of a season since 2011. In goal, sophomore Sebastian Conlon made three saves in 79:48 of action before giving way to redshirt sophomore Drew Slack to finish out the match.

How It Happened

Both teams started off slow, with the first shot from either side coming in the 16^th minute from redshirt junior Evan Southern.
Over the final 20 minutes of the half, Radford put two of its three shots on goal. The Dukes found their chances as well, with all three of their shots in that span going on target.
Lelin opened the scoring in the 50^th minute after the teams went into the break scoreless. Redshirt junior Chay Strine sent a pass from one side of the pitch to freshman Luca Nikolai on the other side near the box before Nikolai crossed into Lelin who finished in front of the goal.
Three minutes and 27 seconds later, JMU added a second goal off the head of Materazzi who finished the set piece off of Robles' corner kick.
In the 70^th minute, Larsson netted his third goal of the season as he slid into a pass from sophomore Cameron Arnold.
Robles capped the scoring off two minutes and 28 seconds later with a perfectly curled ball into the top right corner from a few feet outside the far corner of the box. Lelin and classmate Demitri Turner recorded the assists.

Quick Facts

The Dukes held advantages in shots (13-7), shots on goal (9-3) and corner kicks (8-3).
JMU put together back-to-back shutouts for the first time since blanking Marshall and Georgia State to start last season's Sun Belt Conference Championship.
The goal for Yanis Lelin was the first of his career.

Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
"The boys came out a little flat tonight but turned it on in the second half to get the result. Glad we could get another shutout, as well as see a lot of names on the stat sheet. It's always tough to play in-state opponents and credit to Radford for making it difficult on us."

Up Next
The Dukes will be back on the pitch on Tuesday, Sept. 5 when they travel to Gardner-Webb for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.