Dukes Suffer First Conference Setback of Season at South Carolina

Wednesday, October 23

Columbia, S.C.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

7-2-5, 3-1-2

South Carolina

8-3-2, 3-3-0

James Madison

South Carolina

Dukes Suffer First Conference Setback of Season at South Carolina

10/23/2024 9:35:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina scored in each half to hand James Madison men's soccer its first setback in Sun Belt Conference play, as the Dukes fell, 3-1, on Wednesday night at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium.

The Dukes dropped to 7-2-5 overall and 3-1-2 in league play, while the Gamecocks improved to 8-3-2, 3-3 SBC.

Redshirt senior Evan Southern paced the JMU offense with three shots, while junior Sebastian Conlon made two saves in goal.

Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
"Not our night tonight. The guys fought to get back in the game going down 2-0 and we had a lot of the ball and a lot of chances in the second half. South Carolina played well and finished out the game in the last seconds. We have to learn from this game and be better moving forward."

How It Happened

Carolina struck first in the 20^th minute on a goal from Ethan Ballek from the top of the box, with Conlon getting a hand on the ball but not enough to stop it.
The Dukes had an opportunity in the 43^rd minute on a corner kick, with a shot by graduate Aidan Melville being saved before a shot by senior Enrique Garcia Barelles was deflected off the upper body of an SC defender.
SC gained a two-goal lead in the 50^th minute from a score by William Nilsson.
In the 55^th minute, sophomore Luca Nikolai put the Dukes on the board with a shot that went right over the Carolina keeper into the top corner of the goal.
The Gamecocks regained their-two goal lead with an 89^th minute goal to lead 3-1.

Quick Facts

The Dukes trailed at halftime for the second time all season.
JMU was leveled with SC on shots with 11 each and led SC on corners 5-2.

Up Next
The Dukes host No. 6 West Virginia on Sunday, Oct. 27 at Sentara Park for a 7 p.m. kickoff. It'll be the first top-10 ranked opponent to visit Sentara Park since Marshall last season when it was ranked second.