HARRISONBURG, Va., Oct. 28, 2012 -- Sophomore Josh Grant (Plymouth, England/Torpoint College) scored on a rebound with 28 seconds left in overtime to give the James Madison men's soccer team a 2-1 win over visiting Georgia State in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup Sunday afternoon at University Park.
The Dukes, who extended their unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1), improved their overall record to 8-5-3 and their CAA record to 6-1-2. Georgia State dropped to 4-12-0 overall and 1-8-0 in league play.
With only an Oct. 31 match at Drexel remaining, JMU has assured itself of no worse than a third-place finish in the CAA standings.
The game-winning goal came after Panthers senior goalkeeper Vincent Foermer (Seevetal, Germany/Meckelfeld) made a diving stop on a shot by JMU senior Paul Wyatt (Modbury, England/Ivybridge) from the right side of the box. However, the ball rebounded off Foermer, and Grant knocked the ball into the net from eight yards out.
It was Grant's team-leading fourth game-winner of the season.
JMU took an early 1-0 lead as Wyatt headed in a corner kick from freshman Tom Fouhy (Buckinghamshire, England/Dr. Challoner's) with just 1:16 elapsed.
The Panthers drew even on a goal by sophomore Ali Elkhalil (Marietta, Ga./Walton) in the 32nd minute. Freshman William Mellors-Blair (Nottingham, England/Nottingham Bluecoat) sent a pass from the middle of the field to Elkhalik on the right side of the box. Elkhalil hit a hard shot from 15 yards out to the far post, and the ball hit the post and ricocheted to the right side of the goal.
GSU dropped its fifth straight match. The Panthers have now lost eight of 12 games by a single goal.
Game Statistics Summary:
Shots: JMU 20, GSU 7
Saves: JMU, Kyle Morton 2 (99:32); GSU, Vincent Foermer 5 (99:32)
Corner kicks: JMU 4, GSU 4
Scoring: JMU - Paul Wyatt (Tom Fouhy), 1:16
GSU - Ali Elkhalil (Williams Mellors-Blair), 31:03
JMU - Josh Grant (Wyatt), 99:32
JMU Associate Head Coach Tom Foley:
" We knew Georgia State was a good team despite their record. They knock the ball well, they defend very well, and they're never going to give up."
"We didn't give up at all. We created opportunities to score goals, we missed a few, but the guys kept working. We were able to create good opportunities in the overtime. They outworked their opponent in the overtime and were finally able to finish (a chance) and get the victory."
Game Highlights
First Half
JMU - Paul Wyatt heads a corner kick from Tom Fouhy into the net from six yards to the near post, 1:16.
GSU - A shot by senior Alex Reyes (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill)from eight yards hits the side netting, 5:12.
JMU - A header by Josh Grant is cleared off the goalline by senior Eric Lawrence (Columbus, Ga./Pacelli), who heads the ball away just inside the left post, 19:07.
JMU - A cross by junior Karel Manrau (Neuchâtel, Switzerland/Jean-Piaget) nearly sails into the goal, but senior goalkeeper Vincent Foermer (Seevetal, Germany/Meckelfeld) controls the ball, 28:21.
GSU - Ali Elkhalil sends a hard shot from the right side from 15 yards. The ball hits the left post and ricochets into the net, 31:03.
GSU - A shot by senior Alex Vivanco (Cumming, Ga./South Forsyth) from just outside the 18 is just wide right of the goal, 40:03.
Second Half
JMU - A shot by Paul Wyatt from 27 yards is a few yards high of the goal, 55:19.
JMU - Jamal Umar receives a pass right in front of Foermer 12 yards from the goal. Foermer makes a point-blank save on Umar's shot, 72:08.
Overtime
GSU - Junior Jamal Keene (Atlanta, Ga./Hiram) takes a shot from the right side from just outside the box. Freshman goalkeeper Kyle Morton (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) jumps to make the stop, 95:18.
JMU - Josh Grant knocks in a rebound from eight yards after Foermer stops a previous shot by Wyatt, 99:32.
Of Note:
* CAA Standings: JMU remains in third place in the CAA standings with 20 points. The Dukes' next opponent, Drexel, holds first place with 22 points, and Northeastern is second with 21 points.
* CAA Tournament: The top six teams in the final CAA standings qualify for the CAA Tournament. (Old Dominion, currently in fifth place, is not eligible for the tournament.) The number one and two seeds receive first-round byes, while the number three and four seeds host the number six and five seeds, respectively, in first-round games on Nov. 3.
* Drexel, Northeastern, JMU and Hofstra (15 points) have all clinched spots in the CAA Tournament. Drexel can clinch the top seed with a win over JMU on Oct. 31. JMU has a chance to finish first, but the Dukes must win at Drexel and Northeastern must tie or lose its Oct. 31 game at ODU. Should the JMU-Drexel game end in a tie, Northeastern can claim the top seed with a win at ODU.
* Career Lists: With a goal and an assist in the win over Georgia State, Paul Wyatt increased his career totals to 26 goals and 62 points. He moved into 15th place on JMU's career goals list and is just one goal away from 13th place. He moved to 19th place on the career points list.
* Streaks: JMU is unbeaten (4-0-1) in its last five games. GSU lost its fifth in a row.
* Close Games: Ten of JMU's 16 games have been decided by a single goal. JMU has a 6-4 record in one-goal games and is 4-0 in its last four one-goal decisions. GSU has a 1-9 record in one-goal games and has lost its last four matches by just one goal.
* Overtime: JMU is undefeated (2-0-3) in overtime contests.
* Grant Game-Winners: All four of Josh Grant's game-winning scores have come in CAA competition: Sept. 15 vs. Hofstra (2-1), Sept. 29 vs. Towson (4-0), Oct. 20 at George Mason (2-1) and Oct. 28 vs. Georgia State (2-1 OT).
By Avi Creditor | Goal.com – 1 hour 30 minutes ago
Posts
