HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Tigers entered their season finale with James Madison on Saturday night hoping to build some momentum for next year. However, the Dukes had other ideas and used a "hat trick" from freshman forward Paul Wyatt to post a 5-2 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Towson at the JMU Soccer Complex.
The win lifted the Dukes' record to 10-5-3 overall and 5-4-2 in the CAA. However, the Dukes were eliminated from CAA Tournament consideration when Hofstra played UNC Wilmington to a 0-0 tie.
Meanwhile, the Tigers end the season with a 7-10-0 overall record and a 4-7-0 mark in the CAA.
Wyatt gave the Dukes a quick 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when he took a pass from senior midfielder Joel Senior and blasted a 15-yard shot past senior goalkeeper Frank Fregoso.
However, the Tigers responded 15 minutes later when junior midfielder Joe O'Rourke converted a corner kick to tie the game at 1-1.
But, the Dukes scored twice in a span of 73 seconds early in the second half to take a 3-1 advantage. After Wyatt scored his second goal of the game in the 57th minute, sophomore defender Jason Gannon converted a corner kick by senior Billy Swetra with 32:22 remaining to give the Dukes a two-goal cushion.
Sophomore forward Liam Maloney narrowed the Tigers' deficit to 3-2 in the 63rd minute when he scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season off assists from senior Tommy Appel-Schumacher and sophomore Javier Bermudez Roa.
However, Wyatt countered with his third goal of the game, an unassisted marker past Fregoso in the 69th minute, which upped the James Madison lead to 4-2.
The Dukes added a goal by junior forward CJ Sapong in the 86th minute to secure the victory.
While Wyatt led the Dukes with a three-goal effort, Swetra added two assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Justin Epperson was not forced to make a save as the Dukes outshot Towson by an 18-5 margin.
One of four seniors making the final appearance of their college careers, Fregoso made five saves in a losing effort for the Tigers, who lost three of their final four games. The game also marked the end of the college careers for Appel-Schumacher, Maxx Hurkamp and Xavier Otero.
Men's College Soccer: James Madison University 5, Towson University 2
Towson (7-10-0, 4-7-0) 1-1 / 2
James Madison (10-5-3, 5-4-2) 1-4 / 5
Goals: TOW - Joe O'Rourke 1 (30:15), Liam Maloney 1 (62:55); JMU - Paul Wyatt 3 (16:29, 56:25, 68:11), Jason Gannon 1 (57:38), CJ Sapong 1 (85:58). Assists: TOW - Tommy Appel-Schumacher 1, Javier Bermudez Roa 1; JMU - Billy Swetra 2, Joel Senior 1, Stefan Durr 1, Jonathan Smithgall 1. Saves: TOW - Frank Fregoso 5 (90:00, 5 goals allowed); JMU - Justin Epperson 0 (90:00, 2 goals allowed). Shots: TOW - 5; JMU - 18. Corner Kicks: TOW - 7; JMU - 7. Attendance: 473.
-- TIGERS --
