James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
Dukes Jump Nine Spots to No. 8 in Coaches Poll
9/5/2023 4:21:00 PM | Men's Soccer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a 4-0 victory over Radford on Sept. 1, James Madison men's soccer jumped nine spots to the No. 8 ranked team in the country in the United Soccer Coaches National Rankings for Division I, the outlet released Tuesday afternoon.
The ranking is the highest for the Dukes by United Soccer Coaches since being ranked seventh in the poll for the week of Sept. 22, 1997. JMU is off to its best start since 2010, sitting at a perfect 3-0 with victories over Duquesne, UCLA and Radford.
Against the Highlanders, redshirt junior Yanis Lelin (50'), redshirt junior Davide Materazzi (53'), sophomore Kevin Larsson (70') and redshirt senior Rodrigo Robles (72') all netted goals in the second half to secure the victory. Lelin and Robles also recorded an assist, in addition to four more Dukes, as JMU recorded six assists for the first time since Sept. 26, 2018 against Delaware.
Nationally, the Dukes rank second in assists per game (4.33) and total assists (13), fifth in points per game (9.67) and eighth in shot accuracy (.622), save percentage (.929) and goal differential (seven). Freshman Luca Nikolai is sixth in the country in assists with three.
JMU will be in action later tonight, Sept. 5, as they take on Gardner-Webb at 7:30 p.m. in Boiling Springs, N.C. with the matched streamed on ESPN+.
The ranking is the highest for the Dukes by United Soccer Coaches since being ranked seventh in the poll for the week of Sept. 22, 1997. JMU is off to its best start since 2010, sitting at a perfect 3-0 with victories over Duquesne, UCLA and Radford.
Against the Highlanders, redshirt junior Yanis Lelin (50'), redshirt junior Davide Materazzi (53'), sophomore Kevin Larsson (70') and redshirt senior Rodrigo Robles (72') all netted goals in the second half to secure the victory. Lelin and Robles also recorded an assist, in addition to four more Dukes, as JMU recorded six assists for the first time since Sept. 26, 2018 against Delaware.
Nationally, the Dukes rank second in assists per game (4.33) and total assists (13), fifth in points per game (9.67) and eighth in shot accuracy (.622), save percentage (.929) and goal differential (seven). Freshman Luca Nikolai is sixth in the country in assists with three.
JMU will be in action later tonight, Sept. 5, as they take on Gardner-Webb at 7:30 p.m. in Boiling Springs, N.C. with the matched streamed on ESPN+.
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