Men's College Soccer
James Madison University 3, Rider University 0
HARRISONBURG, VA-The Broncs lost to host James Madison in the first round of the JMU/Comfort Inn Tournament Friday evening. "We knew we were going to be facing a pretty good team," said Rider head coach Russ Fager.
JMU junior CJ Sapong scored twice to lead the 1-1 Dukes, in the 19th minutes from 12 yards out and again with nine minutes left in the first half on a header off of a long throw in.
"They scored in the 19th minute on an error on our part," Fager said. "We made a poor decision on a ball and it resulted in a goal. Their second goal was also the result of a poor decision on our part."
JMU out-shot Rider 22-4, including 12-3 in the first half. "We had a couple of chances in the first half but we just couldn't get guys at the end of the serves, couldn't get guys striking the ball on net," Fager said. "They put a lot of pressure on us."
Rider senior goalkeeper Dylan Hastings (Tabernacle, N.J./Rutgers) made eight saves.
"In the second half we came out and played a lot tougher, a lot harder. I thought we played with more energy in the second half," Fager said. "For about 20-25 minutes the game was about even."
JMU took a 3-0 lead nine minutes into the second half. "They put a serve into the box, about 20 in and one of their players banged into Dylan, knocking the ball loose and they were able to pick up the third goal," Fager said.
Rider's play was highlighted, once again, by the newcomers. "A few of our youngsters played well tonight, but we aren't getting what we want, what we expect, from some of our upper classmen," Fager said. Freshman Brandon Sebastian (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Twp.) had a strong game for us, as did freshman Ryan Fitzgerald (Yardville, N.J./Steinert), who worked real hard, and sophomore Alex Titus (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) played well."
James Madison is now 6-1 against Rider since the series began in 1994. "JMU is very good," Fager said. "By the end of the year they could be a top-30 team."
Rider plays at 12 noon Sunday against High Point at JMU. "High point may even be better," Fager said. "They won 15 games last year."
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