Pair of Second-Half Goals Lift Dukes over Red Wolves

Wednesday, October 23

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

9-3-3, 7-0-1

Arkansas State

3-6-5, 0-5-3

Arkansas St.

James Madison

10/23/2024 10:06:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. James Madison women's soccer used two second-half goals to lift themselves over Arkansas State, 2-0, on Wednesday night at Sentara Park to close out their home schedule on a five-game win streak.

The Dukes moved to 9-3-3 (7-0-1 conf.) while Arkansas State fell to 5-4-5 (0-5-3 conf.).

JMU was powered on offense by freshmen forward Ginny Lackey with one goal and one assist, whose 11th goal on the season tied a program record for consecutive matches with a goal scored (nine). Junior midfielder Soleil Flores and freshmen midfielder Tali Rovner provided the assist on Lackey's goal. Senior forward Amanda Attanasi netted the second score with her seventh goal on the season, assisted by Lackey and sophomore midfielder Ellie Farrell, her first assist on the season.

Redshirt freshman Sofia DeCerb made her fifteenth start in goal, playing all 90 minutes and making two saves. JMU outshot Arkansas State 12-4, including a lights-out defensive effort in the second half that did not allow a shot. It is the second shutout in a row and third in the last four matches for the Dukes.

Quoting Head Coach Joshua Walters, Sr.
"I thought we had a great second half tonight and got a deserved three points. Arkansas State was prepared and did a really good job against us and gave us a different kind of puzzle to solve. We were able to use a variety of different players to help solve that puzzle. I'm very proud of the girls being able to focus on the fundamentals of what we do to get the result. That was a great way to end our last home game."

How it Happened

JMU began with several good opportunities to strike, with Lexi Vanderlinden taking the first shot of the match on goal in the fourth minute.
Ariana Reyes tested the Red Wolves goalie again in the 16th minute with a shot that was saved in the air.
Jordan Yang got another good look in the 20th minute that was grabbed again by the Red Wolves goalie.
DeCerb made a pair of key saves off a shot inside the box from a corner kick in the 22nd minute.
Despite getting three more shots on goal in the 37th minute from Attanasi, 42nd minute from Vanderlinden, and 45th from Makenna Kirk, the first half ended at 0-0.
Lackey broke the scoreless tie with her goal in the 50th minute on a breakaway to put JMU up 1-0.
Lackey then took a pass from Farrell and found Attanasi who headed it in to give JMU the insurance goal in the 64th minute.
The Dukes continued their lockdown defense down the stretch to close out the win.

Quick Facts

Lackey's goal is her eleventh score in ten games. She leads the conference in goals per game (1.10).
The victory marked the sixth match of the season with three or more assists. Fourteen Dukes now have at least one assist on the season.
Attanasi's goal is the 25th of her career, moving her into a three-way tie for 13th in JMU program history.

Up Next
JMU travels to Huntington, West Virginia for a contest with Marshall on Sunday, Oct. 27th. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.