JMU Sinks Coastal Carolina on the Road to Win Third Straight

Thursday, September 26

Conway, S.C.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

4-3-2, 2-0-0

Coastal Carolina

4-4-3, 0-1-1

James Madison

Coastal Carolina

JMU Sinks Coastal Carolina on the Road to Win Third Straight

9/26/2024 9:51:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

CONWAY, S.C. – James Madison women's soccer used two unanswered goals on the road against Coastal Carolina to hand the Chants their first home loss of the season, 3-1, and remain unbeaten in Sun Belt conference play.

With the win, the Dukes moved to 4-3-2 while Coastal Carolina moved to 4-4-3. JMU was led once again by freshman forward Ginny Lackey with one goal and two assists, marking her third straight multi-point performance. Senior forward Amanda Attanasi and midfielder Sophia Verrecchia netted the other two goals, each their second in as many games. Redshirt senior forward London Lewis grabbed her first assist of the season.

Redshirt freshman Sofia DeCerb made her ninth start in goal, playing all 90 minutes and commanding a JMU defense that held the Chants to just five shots. The Dukes outshot the Chants 18-5, their largest margin in shots for a game this season.

Quoting Head Coach Joshua Walters, Sr.
"We played well tonight and the girls deserved those three points. It's always tough to go on the road in the Sun Belt and get a result. 12 goals in the last three games makes a happy coach. Credit to Coastal Carolina and its staff, they have some great ideas about the game and some quality players. They are going to be a handful for the rest of the conference schedule."

How it Happened

Both teams batted around possession in the opening minutes, trying to establish an offensive attack.
The Dukes press paid off in the ninth minute when Lackey gained possession in the JMU attacking zone and sent a cross to Attanasi for the first strike of the match.
The Chants equalized the match off a corner kick in the 14th minute from Lauryn Barringer.
The Duke defense came through again in the 25th minute, when a turnover allowed Lewis to receive a pass on the breakaway from Vanderlinden and find Lackey for the second score to put JMU back on top before halftime.
JMU kept its foot on the gas to open the second frame, managing to hold possession in their attacking zone while taking two shots and drawing a corner kick.
In the 49th minute, Verrecchia took a pass from Lackey inside the box a ripped a shot right above the hands of the goalie and into the net for an insurance goal.
The Dukes remained aggressive down the stretch, outshooting Coastal Carolina 7-1 following Verrecchia's goal to close out the win.

Quick Facts

The win keeps the Dukes undefeated against Coastal Carolina all-time at 3-0, and extends their current win streak to three games.
18 shots are the most this season in a game for JMU.
Vanderlinden's assist is the 20th of her career, putting her tied for 11th in the all-time program ranks.

Up Next
The Dukes return to Sentara Park on Sep. 29th for another conference matchup with in-state rival Old Dominion. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.