Photo credit: Courtney Ryder | The Breeze
JMU men’s soccer wrapped up its regular season schedule Saturday in a matchup against No. 3 Northeastern. The No. 2 Dukes gained an early lead, but a pair of second half goals secured a Huskies' win.
“It was a hard match,” redshirt freshman defender Josiah Blanton said. “I thought both teams fought well.”
The first half was evenly matched as both teams created offensive attacks. JMU had a few scoring chances early on but struggled to convert.
Graduate transfer forward Max Poelker put JMU on the board with 33 seconds left in the first half. After Northeastern redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Colby Hegarty was unable to control a loose ball, Blanton gained control and passed the ball to Poelker.
“I want to shout Max Poelker out on senior night to score his first goal [of the season],” redshirt freshman Alex Krakowiak said. “It was unbelievable — it was a great finish, and it just allowed us to go into the locker room with a little bit more positivity.”
Northeastern made an offensive surge in the second half, dominating on offense and maintaining possession. Graduate goalkeeper Martin Leu faced pressure with four shots in a three-minute span, but he saved them all to protect JMU’s lead.
“I think [Leu] played really well,” head coach Paul Zazenski said. “I think everybody was fighting out there.”
The Huskies’ continued pressure in the second half paid off. Senior forward Benjamin Klingen navigated through a sea of JMU players to put the Huskies on the board. JMU was awarded a free kick at the top of the box two minutes later — the shot, taken by redshirt freshman midfielder Axel Ahlander, went north of the goal post.
“They had a little bit more in the beginning of the second half,” Krakowiak said. “I [think] that’s what allowed them to kind of get back into the game.”
About halfway through the last 45 minutes of regulation, JMU found its rhythm and saw more offensive looks, but momentum shifted back to the Huskies with a late goal to take the lead. The Dukes had a shot at an equalizer with another free kick close to the box, but the shot — a low drive through the Huskies’ wall — was saved by Hegarty.
“I think our team did well today, [but] we didn’t do enough to match the level of Northeastern’s intensity,” Krakowiak said. “We had better opportunities … [but] not enough on the night.”
Tensions grew high in the final 90 seconds of regulation. A foul by Northeastern sophomore defender and midfielder Eren Senyuva resulted in a red card and a fight between players. Another fight broke out on the field after the final whistle, resulting in a red card for Ahlander.
JMU and Northeastern racked up a combined nine yellow cards and two red cards during the match. The Dukes tallied nine shots on goal from five players, and Leu tallied six saves.
“I’m super proud of my guys,” Zazenski said. “There’s not a lot of teams … in the country that could have handled the adversity that we’ve handled and had to handle like we did — tonight we just didn’t get the result, but I couldn’t be more proud of just the way that they’ve shown their true selves.”
JMU finishes its season 11-5-1 (5-3 CAA). Northeastern improves to 11-5-2 (5-2-1 CAA). The Huskies clinched the No. 2 seed in the CAA tournament Nov. 11-14. The tournament, originally to be hosted by the Dukes at Sentara Park, will now be hosted by No. 1 seed Hofstra after the CAA’s announcement to ban JMU from participating in conference tournaments in response to JMU announcing its move to the Sun Belt Conference.
“It’s just been a whirlwind for our guys, and they don’t deserve that,” Zazenski said. “I’m gutted for them and they deserve better.”
Story originally published by The Breeze.
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