Men's Soccer Edged by James Madison on Penalty Kicks, 8-7

Thursday, April 15

Vidas Field

12 p.m.

Drexel University

6-3-2

James Madison

5-0-2

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
James Madison	1	0	0	0	1
Drexel	1	0	0	0	1

Photo by: Greg Carroccio/Sideline Photos

Men's Soccer Edged by James Madison on Penalty Kicks, 8-7

4/15/2021 4:16:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel men's soccer team (6-3-2, 2-1-1 CAA) was defeated by the No. 18 James Madison Dukes (5-0-2, 4-0-0 CAA) in the semifinals of the CAA Men's Soccer Championships. The game was decided with penalty kicks after both teams were tied at one. After 10 rounds of penalty kicks, James Madison emerged victorious, 8-7.

After a tightly contested 110 minutes that saw both teams take 14 shots, the match was decided on PK's. The Dukes and Dragons each had an early miss before the teams combined to convert 10 straight kicks for a 6-6 tie. JMU goalie TJ Bush and Drexel goalie Stephen Kopsachilis each came up with a save in the 8^th round and then both teams made kicks to even the competition at 7-7. Bush was able to come up with another stop, setting the stage for Ahlander, who found an opening on the right side.

Drexel came out aggressive offensively and generated a couple of good early scoring chances, including a Chris Donovan header that went off the crossbar eight minutes into the contest. The Dragons finally broke through in the 15^th minute when CAA Player of the Year Laolu Daranijo flicked a pass to Donovan in the middle of the box, where he was able to finish with his left foot into the upper left corner from eight yards out. It was Donovan's eighth goal of the year and just the second goal conceded by the Dukes all season.

JMU responded with the equalizer seven minutes later. Yanis Lelin's free kick from the right side found the head of Ahlander, who was able to re-direct the ball inside the right post to tie the contest at 1-1 in the 22^nd minute. It was Ahlander's first goal of the season.

Shots in an evenly played first half were tied 6-6. JMU had a 4-1 edge on shots on goal but Drexel had a 3-0 advantage on corners.

Neither team had any great scoring opportunities over the first 30 minutes of the second half, but action picked up in the final 15 minutes of regulation. With less than 11 minutes to go, Drexel's Elliott Swigert sent a pass across the goal to Daranijo, but he was unable to get much on a shot that was stopped by Bush. The Dukes' best chance came about a minute later when Ahlander had a header tipped over the crossbar by Kopsachilis. Drexel out-shot JMU 7-4 in the second half.

Kopsachillis finished the game with eight saves, while Bush made one.

CAA MEN'S SOCCER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Axel Ahlander, James Madison (Most Outstanding Player)
TJ Bush, James Madison
Melker Anshelm, James Madison
Alex Krakowiak, James Madison
Wessel Speel, Hofstra
George O'Malley, Hofstra
Pierce Infuso, Hofstra
Chris Donovan, Drexel
Michael McCarthy, Drexel
Jacob Evans, UNCW
Gabe Mercer, UNCW