James Madison Captures CAA Championship in Penalties
CHAMP CENTRAL | HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY
HARRISONBURG, Va. (November 11, 2018) – James Madison claimed the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Soccer Championship, outlasting Hofstra, 4-2, in penalty kicks, after a 1-1 draw in regulation at Sentara Park.
James Madison (12-4-3) earned the CAA’s automatic bid into the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship. The championship was the sixth for the Dukes and first since 2014.
After the teams played 110 minutes, JMU’s TJ Bush made two saves in the penalty stage to give the Dukes the championship and set off a frenzy on the pitch.
Bush denied Hofstra’s George O’Malley in the first round of PKs, and in the fourth round, the first-team All-CAA keeper dove to his left to knock down Marcus Lindqvist’s penalty to clinch the title. Aaron Ward-Baptiste, Maarten Nikkessen, Yannick Franz and Manuel Ferriol all converted in the penalty rounds for JMU.
Hofstra (10-6-5) forced extra time by once again striking in the final 10 minutes of regulation, as they did in the semifinals. In the 81
st minute, Luke Brown sent a cross from right-to-left, where Matthew Vowinkel got a toe on the ball to equalize the match at 1-1.
The Dukes opened the scoring in 1
st half, as Petur Thorsteinsson drove down the right side towards the end line before slotting a pass back to the six-yard box, where it found a waiting Manuel Ferriol. Ferriol found the back the net for his sixth goal of the year just 9:41 into the match, where the score remained until Hofstra’s late equalizer.
In the second half, Hofstra keeper Alex Ashton made two saves to keep the Pride in the match, denying two Carson Jeffris efforts midway through the half to keep it a one-goal match. Ashton also turned in a diving save on Ferriol in the second overtime to help force penalties.
For the match, Ashton turned in six saves, while Bush made two for the Dukes.
Ferriol was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Bush, Thomas Shores and Yannick Franz. Luke Brown, Sean Nealis and O’Malley represented Hofstra.
The championship capped a season in which JMU has won both the CAA regular-season and championship titles in head coach Paul Zazenski’s first year at the helm of the program. Zazenski was previously recognized as the CAA Coach of the Year.
The Dukes will find out their NCAA Tournament destination during the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship Selection Show, which will live on NCAA.com at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 12.
All-Tournament Team:
Luke Brown, Hofstra
Sean Nealis, Hofstra
George O’Malley, Hofstra
TJ Bush, James Madison
Thomas Shores, James Madison
Yannick Franz, James Madison
Manuel Ferriol, James Madison (Most Outstanding Player)
Joel Bylander, UNCW
Danny Reynolds, UNCW
Julian Ngoh, William & Mary
Reeves Trott, William & Mary