PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Saint Joseph's broke a 1-1 tie on a penalty kick with less than seven minutes to play on Thursday evening, handing James Madison a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat in non-conference women's soccer action at Sweeney Field.
 
After the Dukes (1-4) bounced back from an early goal to tie things just past the hour mark, the Hawks (3-1-1) weathered a flurry of JMU chances before Dakota Mills struck from the penalty spot in the 84th minute to give SJU the victory.
 
JMU faced a 6-1 deficit in shots in the opening half, but rebounded after the break to outshoot the Hawks by a 9-7 margin, including a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal, while racking up seven corner kicks in the second half alone.
 
Senior 
Maia Foley picked up the lone JMU goal in the loss, while senior 
Haley Crawford racked up four shots, including a match-high three shots on goal. Senior goalkeeper 
Hannah McShea notched a pair of shots on the evening.
 
HOW THEY SCORED
SJU
8' | Gabrielle Vagnozzi opened the scoring inside of 10 minutes, taking a pass from Bridget Galen and scoring inside the right post from within the penalty area.
84' | Mills provided the gamewinner with just 6:30 on the clock, scoring from the penalty spot after drawing a foul inside the box.
JMU
69' | Foley picked up her first goal of the season, the second of her career, levelling the match at 1-1 after senior 
Claire Meiser laid off a setup pass and Foley blasted a 20-yard shot through traffic inside the post.
 
QUOTING COACH WALTERS
"I am gutted for the girls. Once again in the second half we created chances and fought, but we struggled to overcome the deficit because we dug a hole in the first half. I told the girls tonight that everything we want to accomplish as a team is still in front of us! We have to use these games as a learning experience and fuel for the games to come."
 
"I am excited about our future. When it clicks and we get 90 mins of competitive fire we will be a fun team to watch!"
 
UP NEXT
The Dukes will be back on the road for the weekend, travelling to University Park, Pa. for a matchup at No. 8 Penn State at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions are currently 3-1, with their only loss in a 2-1 decision against No. 3 Stanford, and will travel to face No. 22 West Virginia on Friday evening.