JMU, No. 22 Furman Battle to Scoreless Draw

Friday, September 26

Greenville, S.C.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

4-3-2

Furman

4-1-2

OT 3

OT 4

James Madison

Furman

9/26/2014 11:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The James Madison men's soccer team battled 22nd-ranked Furman to a scoreless draw Friday night at Stone Soccer Stadium, earning its second draw against a Top 25 team this season.

"We played very well as a team against a good Top 25 opponent," head coach Tom Martin said. "Playing on the road at their place in a tough environment, we were probably the better team but it was a hard-fought game on both sides. I'm very proud of the way our guys battled and stayed together throughout this one, though, and we'll look now to get a result from our next game against Virginia."

The Dukes managed 10 shots in the match to Furman's eight. JMU put six of its 10 shots on target while Furman could only manage two on goal.

For the second straight contest, James Madison was pushed to double overtime after going 105 minutes on Tuesday, Sept. 23, against West Virginia at University Park. After winning 4-3 Tuesday against the Mountaineers, neither team could break the tie this time around despite multiple chances in a back-and-forth match. The draw marked the fourth shutout in a row for the Paladins (4-1-2), who have only allowed two goals in seven matches thus far in 2014.

In a very physical match throughout the entire 110 minutes, Furman was whistled for 20 fouls and one yellow card while the Dukes were called for 14 fouls and four yellow cards.

JMU had three quality chances on goal in the first overtime period after winning five corner kicks throughout the period. In the final 10 seconds of the period, JMU freshman forward Joe Vyner (Bath, Somerset, England/Beeches Cliff School) hit a chip shot at goal after the ball bounced out off a corner kick. Vyner lofted his shot but his attempt was punched away by Furman goalkeeper Sven Lissek to keep the game scoreless. Lissek had to retreat back to the goal line and make a lunging save to stop Vyner's shot from going in.

Furman's best chances to score came at the start of the second half as one shot by Kyle McLagen sailed over the crossbar while another shot from Kevin Pahl was blocked by the JMU defense to help redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Kyle Morton (West Chester, Pa./Reed Henderson) tally his third shutout of the season and fifth of his career.

The Dukes have now tied No. 22 Furman and then-No. 16 Penn State (1-1 on Sept. 8) this season in their only two contests against ranked teams. With the draw, JMU remains unbeaten on the road with a 2-0-1 mark in true road games and a 1-0 mark on neutral sites. The Dukes topped Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee, 1-0 on Sept. 14 in the Belmont Invitational for its neutral site win. Lipscomb was receiving votes in the NSCAA Coaches Poll at the time of the loss.

The Dukes will continue their three-game road trip Tuesday, Sept. 30, against Virginia in Charlottesville. First kick between the Dukes and Cavaliers is set for 7 p.m.