Brace From Larsson Leads Dukes to Win at Georgia Southern

Tuesday, October 15

Statesboro, GA

7 p.m.

James Madison University

6-1-5, 2-0-2

Georgia Southern

5-3-3, 1-2-1

James Madison

Ga. Southern

Brace From Larsson Leads Dukes to Win at Georgia Southern

10/15/2024 10:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

STATESBORO, Ga. – James Madison junior Kevin Larsson recorded a forty-three second brace to help lead the Dukes to a win against Georgia Southern, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Erk Russell Athletic Park in Sun Belt Conference men's soccer.

The Dukes improved to 6-1-5 overall and 2-0-2 in league play as they snapped a three-match winless streak, while the Eagles dropped to 5-3-3.

Redshirt senior Yanis Lelin had a team-high three shots and netted the first goal, with Larsson recording his first brace since the season-opener last season. Junior Sebastian Conlon made one save in goal for the Dukes, putting in a full 90 minutes of work.

Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
"The guys had a big second half tonight and secured three huge Sun Belt road points. There were multiple players who stepped up and had big performances to lead the way. It was a great response, especially considering this was a makeup game on short rest."

How It Happened

The Dukes struck first in the ninth minute, as a shot from sophomore Jeffrey Aguilar was blocked to set up a JMU corner kick. Lelin set up for the kick and found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead as it went off the GS keeper.
GS equalized in the 30^th minute on a Ryan Holmes goal, his 10^th of the season.
In the 66^th minute, the Dukes regained the lead as the Eagles turned the ball over. Aguilar ended up with the ball, passing to redshirt senior Evan Southern who flicked it back to Larrson who buried in the goal.
Forty-three seconds later, Southern was fouled in the box to give JMU a penalty kick. Larsson was the penalty kick taker and converted, giving the junior his second career brace.

Quick Facts

The brace from Kevin Larsson is the second brace this season for JMU, as Yanis Lelin recorded a brace against Radford on Sept. 24.
Larsson became the first Duke to score a brace on the road since Rodrigo Robles netted one at Pitt in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament.
The Dukes are now 6-0-1 when scoring first this season and 4-1-1 when the temperature is 60-69 degrees.

Up Next
The Dukes welcome Kentucky to Sentara Park as they continue Sun Belt play on Saturday, Oct. 19 for a 7 p.m. kick.