Drexel tops JMU men’s soccer 2-1 in double OT

The James Madison men’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision on the road at DrexelWednesday night at Vidas Athletic Complex in Colonial Athletic Association action.

The Dukes (5-5-3 overall, 1-1-1 CAA) jumped out to a lead in the 64th minute on a goal from sophomore defenderCallum Hill (Liverpool, England), his first of the season. The 6-foot-1 defender corralled a long rebound on a shot by senior midfielder Jonathan Barden (Harrow, England/Park) that deflected out of the penalty area and out to Hill. With a chance to take a shot from distance, Hill fired a low ball from 30 yards out that beat Drexel goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach.

Drexel (5-6-3, 1-2-1) rebounded by scoring the equalizer four minutes later in the 68th minute when Adam Arana put a header from point-blank range past redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Kyle Morton (West Chester, Pa./Reed Henderson). Arana was set up by Guido Pena, who centered a cross in close to Arana to tie the game at 1-1.

Playing back-and-forth soccer throughout the first overtime period, Drexel finally broke through 41 seconds into the second overtime session on a goal by Erik Alexandersson. On a loose ball in front of net, Alexandersson put a shot top-shelf past Morton for the game-winner and his first goal of the year.

Overall, Drexel outshot JMU 17-15 in the match but the Dukes had the upper hand in shots most of the way until overtime. Of those 17 shots, the Dragons put eight on target while JMU put seven on goal. The Dukes won eight corners in the match to Drexel’s four. Both goalkeepers made six saves in the game.

Just 13 minutes into the game, lightning in the area put a stop to the match for 40 minutes. Prior to the delay, JMU was outshot 3-1 in the opening minutes by the Dragons, but the Dukes used the break to regroup. In the final 32 minutes of the half, JMU outshot Drexel 6-1 to have a 7-4 advantage at half while winning four corner kicks in the frame to take momentum into the second half.

With the overtime game, JMU has now had five of its last six games go to overtime with three of those contests going to double overtime. Through that stretch, JMU has gone 1-2-2 in the overtime games while winning the lone game that didn’t go to extra time 1-0 on the road at Delaware Oct. 8.

JMU returns home for a two-match homestand Saturday night, Oct. 18, for Senior Day against Hofstra. Prior to the match, the Dukes will honor their eight seniors – Barden, forward Josh Grant (Plymouth, England/ Torpoint College), defender Tim Whitebread (McLean, Va./McLean), midfielder Steven Mashinski (Fairfax, Va./Chantilly), defender Daniel Simpson (Warrenton, Va./Kettle Run), forward Jamal Umar (Herndon, Va./Chantilly), goalkeeper Bill Groben (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale) and forward Boyd Reid (Ajax Ontario/Pickering). First kick at University Park is set for 7 p.m.