Last Minute Goal from Robles Equalizes to Give Dukes Draw with Virginia

Tuesday, September 12

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

4-0-2, 0-0-0

Virginia

3-2-1, 0-1-0

Virginia

James Madison

Last Minute Goal from Robles Equalizes to Give Dukes Draw with Virginia

9/12/2023 11:23:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – With 16 seconds remaining in the match, James Madison redshirt senior Rodrigo Robles fired a rebound off of a Virginia defender into the back of the net to equalize and give the Dukes a 1-1 draw in front of 1,464 fans at Sentara Park on Tuesday evening in non-conference men's soccer.

The ninth-ranked Dukes moved to 4-0-2 and are unbeaten through the first six matches of the season for the first time since the 2020 spring season when they went 5-0-1 in the regular season. The Cavaliers drew for the first time this season and are now 3-2-1.

Graduate Clay Obara and sophomore Cameron Arnold led the JMU attack with three shots each, with Robles being the third Duke to take multiple shots at two. Sophomore Sebastian Conlon spent the full 90 minutes in goal and made two saves.

How It Happened

Virginia quickly got out to an 1-0 lead in the fifth minute as Stephen Annor Gyamfi made an athletic move to connect on a header from the very top of the box, receiving a service from just behind the midfield line from Paul Wiese.
JMU had a chance to equalize in the ninth minute after a foul gave the Dukes a free kick a few feet north of the box, but redshirt junior Evan Southern's shot was saved.
There were multiple chances for the Dukes in the first half, as they controlled the possession and outshot the Cavaliers, 7-5, in the opening 45 minutes.
That pressure continued in the second half, as JMU outshot the Hoos 5-1.
The Dukes played the final nine minutes and 45 seconds a man up, Virginia's Parker Sloan received his second yellow card of the match in the 81^st minute.
In the 90^th minute, Obara send a cross into the middle of the 18-yard box that a UVA defender headed out that landed right at the feet of Robles who struck the ball with his left foot and sent it into the back of the net to tie the match at one.

Quick Facts

The attendance of 1,464 is the second most all-time at Sentara Park and is only the fourth time the venue has hit over 1,000 fans.
JMU now improves to 11-3-3 overall and 6-1-2 at home against teams from the Commonwealth under Head Coach Paul Zazenski.

Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
"Credit to our guys to just stay in the rhythm of the game and not go overboard. I think we had some leaders step up on the bench and that really helped us to get that final goal from Rodrigo. I also commend the crowd because they stayed and they were here until the final whistle, and that really helped us get that final surge to get that goal."

Up Next
No. 9 JMU will take on No. 2 Marshall on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Sentara Park in the Sun Belt Conference opener at 7 p.m. with the match being streamed on ESPN+. It'll be the highest ranked opponent at Sentara Park since Marshall was No. 1 in the country in the 2021 season opener.