James Madison men fall to Drexel 1-0 in CAA opener

HARRISONBURG, Va. (Via James Madison University) – The James Madison men’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Association opener at University Park on Saturday night.

With a wet playing surface due to a steady rain, defense dominated the flow of the game. The Dukes (1-6-1) managed to outshoot the Dragons 18-5, but only one shot landed on goal compared to Drexel’s two.

Drexel (2-6-1) earned a corner kick and made the most of it in the 35th minute. Handling the right-footed corner by sophomore Dakota Peterson, defender Nick Bolton chested the ball down in the box for Ilai Shvika, who slotted the ball into the back of the net.

The Dukes’ best chance came in the 71st minute. After forcing a turnover in the Dragons’ third of the field, redshirt-freshman defender Toby Appleton played the ball into the box where senior defender Bjarki Adalsteinsson connected on a header, but the shot was saved by Drexel’s Jacob Jordan.

Both teams kept a tight rotation in this game, with only three substitutes making an appearance. A combined 16 players played the full 90 minutes in the contest.

JMU hits the road for a midweek contest at Northeastern on Wed., Sept. 30, beginning at 7 p.m.

NOTEWORTHY
Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Kyle Morton has allowed just six goals in seven games played this season, keeping his goals allowed per game under one at 0.96.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
Senior defender Bjarki Adalsteinsson led the team in shots tonight with four as he consistently moved forward to bolster the attack.

COACH’S QUOTE
“It was a typical CAA game,” said head coach Tom Foley. “It was a grinder… the guys fought hard, but came up just short.”

NEXT UP
The Dukes return to the field for a midweek CAA showdown with Northeastern on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The game is slated to kick off at 2 p.m.