The James Madison women’s soccer team earned a key 1-0 victory over William & Mary Friday night at University Park to move into second place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings with one game to play.
The only goal of the match was scored in the 68th minute when William & Mary put in an own goal to break the scoreless tie. After redshirt-sophomore defender Jennie Sroba (Manakin-Sabot. Va./Collegiate) drew a foul in the left corner to give JMU the equivalent of a corner kick, sophomore forward Ashley Herndon (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) send the free kick into the box and it bounced off a Tribe defender’s leg, off her shoulder and over the hands of goalkeeper Caroline Casey for the goal.
With the win, the Dukes stay alive in the chase for the CAA regular-season title thanks to Delaware battling Northeastern to a 2-2 draw. With one game left on the schedule for each team, JMU sits one point behind the Huskies for first place. The Dukes battle Elon on Sunday afternoon while Northeastern takes on Drexel. Both matches are set for 1 p.m.
Entering play Sunday afternoon, the Dukes cannot drop lower than third in the conference rankings. Northeastern leads the league with 19 points while JMU has 18. With a win or draw against Elon, JMU will earn at least a bye to the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. A win for the Dukes and either a tie or loss for Northeastern would make JMU the regular-season champion for the second-straight season.
At halftime, JMU honored the 25th Anniversary team. Overall, 24 of the 29 players on the team were in attendance and on the field for the halftime ceremony. With 1,007 people in attendance, the number set a new attendance record for University Park. The previous record was 658, which was set earlier this season when the Dukes hosted Navy on Sept. 5.
JMU outshot William & Mary 11-8 in the match, but the Dukes only put two shots on goal while the Tribe fired four on net. JMU finished with a convincing advantage in corner kicks, taking eight to the Tribe’s three.
Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Ellen Forrest (Midlothian, Va./James River) recorded her third complete-game shutout of the season and fourth overall while making four saves in the game.
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Chris Graham
