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JMU women’s soccer drops 4-2 decision to Richmond

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jmu logoThe James Madison women’s soccer team fell 4-2 in its final nonconference match of the 2014 season Sundayafternoon against Richmond at Robins Stadium.

“We ran into a talented and motivated Richmond team that got the best of us,” head coach Dave Lombardo said. “They played hard and played well. We played hard in the last 15 minutes and scored the two goals but it was a little too late at that point. Now with only conference to focus on, we’ll spend a lot of time this week getting ready for a tough CAA weekend against Hofstra and Northeastern.”

With the Dukes (6-5) trailing 1-0 at halftime, Richmond came out of the break and put three goals past redshirt-senior goalkeeper Kate Courter (Lincoln Park, N.J./Immaculate Heart) to race out to a 4-0 lead with 35 minutes to play. Courter replaced redshirt-junior goalkeeper Ellen Forrest (Midlothian, Va./James River) at halftime, but Forrest reentered the game after the fourth goal.

After a back-and-forth match throughout the first 29 minutes, Richmond got on the board on Ashley Riefner’s sixth goal of the season in the 30th minute. The play started in JMU territory, but two long passes down the sideline put the ball at Shannon Colligan’s feet in the corner. She crossed a pass to Riefner, who was waiting 15 yards from goal in the middle of the box and fired her shot past Forrest for the goal.

Just 51 seconds into the second half, Meaghan Carrigan doubled Richmond’s lead with her seventh goal of the season. Lexi Prillaman set up the goal by dribbling down the middle and past the JMU defense before finding Carrigan on the near post for the score. The assist was her first of three on the night, which tied a program record for most assists in a game.

Carrigan scored her second goal of the contest six minutes later in the 52nd minute when JMU failed to clear the penalty area. Carrigan cashed in on the mistake and headed the ball home for her eighth goal of the season and what turned out to be the game-winner.

Richmond put the final touches on the four-goal outburst in the 55th minute when Darian Podmajersky scored her third goal of the season. The goal came off a cross from Prillaman to the near-right post and Podmajersky put her shot away from 10 yards out.

Trying to crawl back into the contest in the final 11 minutes of the match, junior midfielder Kelly Kerrigan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) scored her first goal of the season on a free kick from 34 yards out. Off the whistle, junior forward Rachel Ivey(South Riding, Va./Freedom) tapped the ball and Kerrigan one-timed her shot past Richmond goalkeeper Katie Brennan.

Three minutes later in the 83rd minute, Ivey cut the Richmond lead to 4-2 with her third goal of the season. Senior defender Kelly Abt(Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) lobbed a pass across the penalty area to Ivey, who in turn lobbed her shot over Brennan for the goal.

In two games this weekend, Ivey recorded six points on two goals and two assists. She scored the game-winning goal Friday afternoon, Sept. 26, in JMU’s Colonial Athletic Association opener against Towson, a 4-2 victory.

Ivey is now in a three-way tie with senior forward Katie Hyland (Islip, N.Y./Islip) and sophomore forward Sydney Braun-McLeod(Ottawa, Ontario/Glebe Collegiate Institute) for the team-lead in goals. Each player has tallied three just over halfway through the 2014 season.

The match drops JMU’s all-time record against in-state rival Richmond to 14-9-1. The Dukes are now 1-4 away from University Park this season.

The four-goal outburst is the fourth time this season Richmond (6-5) has scored three-plus goals in a game. In each of their last three wins, the Spiders have scored three or more goals while going 3-1 in that stretch.

JMU returns to action Friday, Oct. 3, for the fourth match of a five-game road trip against Hofstra. Kick between the Dukes and Pride is set for 7 p.m. in Hempstead, New York. In the Preseason CAA polls, Hofstra was selected to finish first in the conference with 74 points and three first-place votes. JMU was picked second in the league with 71 points and four first-place votes.

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