HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – Junior Kevin Larsson scored his second goal of Sunday night in the 88th minute to give James Madison men’s soccer a 2-2 draw with No. 6 West Virginia at Sentara Park in Sun Belt Conference action.

The Dukes moved to 7-2-6 overall and 3-1-3 in conference action, while improving their home unbeaten streak to 11 matches. The Mountaineers improved to 10-1-4 overall and 5-0-2 in league matches.

Sophomore Luca Nikolai had a career-high-tying three shots to pace the offense, while Larsson netted his third career brace and second this season. Junior Sebastian Conlon worked a full 90-minute shift and made five saves.

Quoting Head Coach Paul Zazenski
“We were very proud of the guys tonight for getting a point when WVU had the lead late in the match. They are a very tough opponent in every sense and every point matters in the Sun Belt. Overall, we are pleased we competed for 90 minutes. Credit to the fans tonight for creating a great atmosphere as this was a great college soccer game to be a part of.”

How It Happened
• West Virginia held a 6-2 shot advantage over the Dukes after the two sides went into halftime scoreless.
• Redshirt senior Evan Southern nearly put the Dukes on the board in the 13th minute, but his shot across the box that evaded the keeper went off the post.
• Southern then helped JMU find the back of the net, crossing a pass into the box for Larsson to sneak pass Marc Bonnaire in goal for the 1-0 lead.
• WVU leveled the match in the 71st minute on a goal from Marcus Caldeira, five minutes after subbing on.
• The Mountaineers took the lead in the 83rd minute as Caldeira found Isaac Schneer who flicked it in goal.
• JMU found the equalizing goal in the 88th minute after a foul set it up for a free kick a few yards out and to the right of the box. Larsson took the free kick and found the back of the net to level the Dukes.

Quick Facts
• Kevin Larsson first brace of the season came on Oct. 15 at Georgia Southern.
• Evan Southern’s assist on Larsson’s first goal was his seventh of the season, the most for a Duke in a season since Rodrigo Robles had eight helpers in 2021.
• Josiah Blanton entered the top 10 for starts in a JMU career, moving into a tie for ninth with his 72nd.
• The 11-match home unbeaten streak is the 10th longest in program history and longest such streak since a 15-match streak from 2011-12.
• JMU is 3-3-4 in its last 10 matches against ranked opponents.
• The draw with No. 6 West Virginia is the highest ranked result at home for the Dukes since knocking off No. 1 Wake Forest, 1-0, in 2019.

Up Next
The Dukes look to honor their 13 seniors in their next match as they host Georgia State on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. for Senior Night at Sentara Park.

— JMU Athletics —