Dukes Take Down Reigning Mid-American Conference Champion Miami (Ohio), 2-1

Friday, September 20

Oxford, Ohio

2 p.m.

James Madison University

(4-1, 1-0MAC)

Miami (Ohio)

(3-4, 0-1MAC)

James Madison

Miami

Photo by: Miami (Ohio) Athletics

Dukes Take Down Reigning Mid-American Conference Champion Miami (Ohio), 2-1

9/20/2024 4:30:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

OXFORD, Ohio – James Madison scored two fourth-quarter goals to defeat reigning Mid-American Conference Tournament Champion Miami (Ohio), 2-1, in league field hockey action on Friday afternoon at the Miami Field Hockey Complex.

JMU (4-1, 1-0 MAC) earned only three penalty corners and produced four shots in the defensive battle.

Senior Cassidy Strittmatter broke the stalemate with her third goal in three games, while freshman Lilly Turner came off the bench to take the Dukes to the finish line with her first collegiate goal. Sophomores Brynna Hill and Ava Drexler-Amey added assists in the win.

Redshirt freshman Molly Schreiner improved to 4-1 in goal after facing three shots. Through five career games, Schreiner owns a goals allowed average of 1.53 and has been scored on once in the last two contests.

Paula Peña Martinez was the lone scorer for the RedHawks (3-4, 0-1 MAC). Berta Mata and Carlie Servis chipped with assists on Martinez's penalty corner goal. Netminder Nicky Sjouken faced four shots and allowed two goals in 55:51 of action.

Quoting Head Coach Christy Morgan
"We played with incredible tenacity, grit, awareness and skill! They were a great team, and it brought out the greatness in us. I'm so proud of this group and these coaches. It's about the "we" not the "me." Go Dukes!"

How It Happened

On Miami's first corner of the day, Martinez took an uncontested shot in the circle that ricocheted off the crossbar resulting in a scoreless tie at the half.
The Dukes had a clean look halfway through the third on a penalty corner, however, a shot from sophomore Azul Covarrubias missed wide.
JMU broke through early in the fourth when Strittmatter jumped on a loose ball in the circle and sent a shot around the keeper to make it 1-0 with 12:26 to go.
Turner added insurance less than five minutes later after a hard entry pass from Drexler-Amey.
The RedHawks cut the deficit on a penalty corner with the finish from Martinez at the 4:09 mark.
Miami pulled its goalie after the score but failed to put a shot on net for the remainder of the game.

Game Notes

James Madison leads Miami (Ohio) 2-0 in the all-time series, dating back to 1996.
The win was JMU's first on the road since the 2023 season opener when the Dukes took down William & Mary, 4-2, on Aug. 25.
James Madison has won six of its last seven games, stretching back to last season.
The RedHawks' loss was just its fifth in conference play since 2018. Coming into the game, Miami boasted a 39-4 league record (.907) in the last six seasons, winning the MAC Tournament title each year during that time.
The last time the Dukes won a conference game was a 2-1 overtime win over the fourth-seeded Northeastern in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament on Nov. 5, 2021.
Turner is the third Duke to score their first collegiate goal this season, joining fifth-year Carissa Tambroni and freshman Madelief Molier.
The last time JMU won a game without registering a save was on Oct. 23, 2022 when the Dukes came away with a 2-1 victory at Cal.

Up Next
The Dukes will return to Harrisonburg to host ACC foe Cal on Sunday, Sept. 22. Game time at the JMU Field Hockey Complex is set for noon and will stream on ESPN+.