Men's Soccer Advances to Sun Belt Semifinals with Shutout Victory over No. 2 Seed Marshall

Sunday, November 6

Huntington, W.Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

7-7-4, 2-3-3

Marshall

10-3-3, 4-1-3

James Madison

Marshall

Men's Soccer Advances to Sun Belt Semifinals with Shutout Victory over No. 2 Seed Marshall

11/6/2022 5:18:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

HUNTINGTON, W.VA. – Crafty passing in the 44th minute resulted in redshirt junior Clay Obara finding the back of the net to lift James Madison over No. 2 seed Marshall 1-0, Sunday afternoon at the Veteran Memorial Soccer Complex.

JMU moves on to the semifinals and improves to 7-7-4, 3-2-3 SBC. The Thundering Herd, who came into the game ranked No. 5 in the nation, slip to 10-3-3, 4-2-3 SBC.

Obara's goal was assisted by redshirt sophomore Demitri Turner and freshman Cameron Arnold. Redshirt sophomore Ethan Taylor applied pressure with two shots on goal in the match. Freshman Sebastian Conlon earned his fifth shutout of the season behind one spectacular save.

How It Happened

Conlon swatted away a free kick heading toward the top right corner nine minutes into the match.
Redshirt junior Rodrigo Robles rifled off a shot at the top of the box that rattled off the left post midway through the first half
In the 44th minute, Turner sent a cross to Arnold who back-heeled the ball to Obara for what proved to be the game winner.
Marshall threatened throughout the second half, out-shooting the Dukes 10-2 and earning four corners. However, a stingy JMU defense held off the Thundering Herd for the shutout victory.

Game Notes

The victory was JMU's highest ranked win since defeating No. 1 Wake Forest on Sept. 17, 2019.
Moreover, the win was James Madison's first over Marshall since topping the Thundering Herd 4-2 on Sept. 12, 1992.
The Dukes now leads Marshall in the all-time series, 4-3.
MU held the advantage in shots (15-6) and corners (6-8), while James Madison recorded more shots on goal (4-1).
Arnold's assist was his fourth of the season to pace all JMU players. Additionally, he now tallies 14 points in his freshman campaign, which also leads the squad.

Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
"Our guys put on a gutsy performance tonight against a top-five team in the country. They were bought in from the start and played for each other. A true team defensive effort lead by the upperclassmen and on down. So proud of this group and for this performance. Now it's time to refocus for the winner of the next quarterfinal match!"

Up Next

The Dukes will face the winner of No. 3 seed Georgia State and No. 6 seed Old Dominion in the conference semifinals. James Madison's semifinal match is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Veteran Memorial Soccer Complex.