Elon Men’s Soccer Phoenix, Dukes Battle to Scoreless Draw

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Keeper Matthew Jegier tied his career-high with seven saves as the Elon University men’s soccer team fought James Madison to a scoreless draw on Saturday, Sept. 24, in a Colonial Athletic Association contest at Sentara Park.

BOX SCORE

Elon (4-2-2, 0-0-2 CAA) and the Dukes (0-7-2, 0-1-1 CAA) had their second scoreless outing in their third game in the all-time series since the Phoenix became members of the CAA in 2014. This was also the second straight double overtime match for the maroon and gold and the third out of past four games.

The Rundown
JMU was the team on the attack early peppering the Phoenix with three shots within the first seven minutes of the match. Only Toby Appleton’s try inside the seventh minute was on frame forcing Jegier for his first save of the game.

Jegier had to make another stop around the 26th minute. The Dukes earned a corner kick and off the set piece, JMU’s Drew Mahoney fired a screamer towards the right post before Jegier corralled his second save.

Near the 34th minute, Elon became more aggressive and nearly maneuvered the first points of the match. Marcel Fahrenholz received the ball at the top of the 18-yard line and sent a one-touch back heel pass for Austin Hill. Hill however lost footing and fell, but Fahrenholz was able to recover and fire a shot from 10-yards out, but the JMU netminder made the save.

One minute later, Elon was on the attack off a corner kick of its own. The set piece was sent into the box where multiple players attacked it. Nicholas O’Callaghan got a heel on it, but again the Dukes’ goalkeeper Kyle Morton made the stop.

Both teams went into the half scoreless as JMU held a 7-6 shot advantage in the opening stanza. Both teams had two attempts on frame, but the Phoenix had the early lead in corners, 4-1.

Inside the 81st minute, Jegier made two incredible saves to keep the match scoreless. The Charlotte, N.C., native first stopped Niclas Mohr’s attempt and was able to get a hand on Connor Coward’s rebound attempt. A third try was also blocked in the aftermath before a fourth shot outside the 18 went high.

The match would eventually go into extra sessions scoreless. In the first overtime, Jegier made a stop early in the period on an attempt by Coward. Elon tried to counter, but Nick Adamczyk’s attempt was also stopped on the other end by Morton.

In the second overtime near the 109th minute, Mohr fired an attempt that forced Jegier to make his seventh save. That led to a Dukes’ corner kick, but the Phoenix defense held up forcing the 0-0 draw.

Notable
• Elon remains unbeaten in the series against the Dukes all-time, 1-0-2.
• Jegier also had seven saves versus Winthrop in the Phoenix’s opening-round NCAA Tournament game last season.
• It was the third shutout of the season for Jegier and the 12th overall in his career.
• JMU won the shot battle, 16-14, over the Phoenix. It’s only the second time that Elon has been outshot in a match this season.
• Jegier, Jonathan Coleby and Luke Matthews are the only members of the team to have played every minute this season.
• Elon ended its four-match road trip with a 1-1-2 record.

Up Next
The Phoenix hosts its CAA home opener versus UNCW on Wednesday, Sept. 28. The kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.