The James Madison women’s soccer team dropped its second match of the season Fridaynight, falling 3-0 at the Higgins Soccer Complex on the road against Villanova.
The Dukes and Wildcats battled through a scoreless first half, but three goals in 27 minutes in the second half was enough to put the Dukes away.
In the 53rd minute, Caitlin Forte scored her first goal of the season to put Villanova (2-3-1) on top. Forte took a ball from Amanda Vocelka in the box and put her shot past redshirt junior goalkeeper Ellen Forrest (Midlothian, Va./James River) on the left side of net from six yards out.
Thirteen minutes later, the Wildcats doubled their lead on Victoria Gersh’s second goal of the season. The senior midfielder put a penalty kick past Forrest after the Dukes had been called for a foul in the box.
Reanna Marino added the third and final goal for Villanova in the 80th minute on a long pass from Forte.
The loss marks the first time the Dukes have lost to Villanova in program history. JMU owned a series advantage of 7-0-1 prior to Friday’s contest.
The Dukes (4-2) outshot Villanova 19-15 in the contest, but only three of the Dukes’ shots were on goal while the Wildcats put seven shots on target.
JMU had a quality chance just before Villanova scored the first goal of the contest when freshman forward Caroline Fitzgerald (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) took a shot that was blocked. The rebound bounced out to sophomore forward Ashley Herndon (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) but her shot was saved by Villanova goalkeeper Emma Meyer.
Forrest made five saves in the contest, including stopping a one-on-one breakaway change against Vocelka. Redshirt senior Kate Courter (Lincoln Park, N.J./Immaculate Heart) came on to finish out the last 8:34 of the game between the pipes.
Herndon took a team-high four shots, but only one was on target. Sophomore midfielder Allie Bunner (Bristow, Va./Patriot), redshirt senior forward Sam Lofton (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) and junior forward Rachel Ivey (South Riding, Va./Freedom) each had three shots in the contest.
The Dukes stay in Philadelphia for the remainder of the weekend and take on La Salle Sunday afternoon, Sept. 14, at1 p.m. before returning home to University Park on Friday, Sept. 19, for a 5 p.m. match against Appalachian State.