HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison men’s soccer and South Carolina played a leveled contest until an 84th minute goal downed the Dukes on Sunday night, 1-0, at Sentara Park.
The Dukes dropped to 1-6-1 overall and 0-2 in Sun Belt Conference matches, while the Gamecocks improved to 7-3-1, 1-0-1 Sun Belt.
Sophomore Manuel Lolas had a pair of shots to pace the JMU offense. Classmate Erik Jaspers spent the full 90 minutes in goal, making a career-high-tying five saves.
Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
“We are proud of the way we played overall tonight. We were down a number of starters so seeing the group battle like they did was a huge positive. We played a very strong first half and just couldn’t get it done at the end. Credit to South Carolina as they are a very solid team and found a way to win.”
How It Happened
• JMU had the first opportunity in the seventh minute, as sophomore Milo Wray put a shot on goal directly from a corner kick.
• Carolina had a pair of opportunities in the 25th minute when Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez fired a shot in that Jaspers saved to set up a corner kick. Alexander Stjernegaard then put a header on frame from the corner kick that Jaspers came up with.
• In the 38th minute, a long ball from just in front of the mid-pitch line was sent into the box, where Lolas gathered the deflected ball and fired a shot but missed wide.
• Jaspers came up with a big stop in the 79th minute, making a save on a 1-on-1 play with Tyler Trimnal to keep the contest level.
• SC broke the scoreless tie in the 84th minute with a goal just over Jaspers’ hands from the top of the far corner of the penalty box.
• With just a second left to go in the match, a review was initiated for a potential Carolina handball in the penalty box. Ultimately, the initial no-call was upheld.
Up Next
The Dukes go on the road to face No. 18 Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 4 with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
— JMU Athletics —
