HARRISONBURG, Va. – In a cold and rainy game, the Towson women's soccer team was edged by regional power James Madison 2-1 Friday night in the Tigers' Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener at University Park. After a scoreless first half, the two league foes scored all three goals in the final 45 minutes of the contest.
 
How It Happened

• Towson (6-3-2, 0-1-0 CAA) was in control early, taking six shots in the opening half, putting four of those chances on cage. James Madison keeper Ellen Forrest stopped all four Tiger chances in the first 45 minutes.
• Both teams had corner kick chances in the first half, with James Madison (7-4-0, 1-0-0 CAA) taking two against the Tigers' one. Neither team managed a corner in the second half.
• Tiger keeper Taylor Sebolao was forced to make one save in the first 45 minutes, carrying the blank sheet into the break with the score noted at 0-0.
• The Tiger defense was stout throughout the contest, limiting James Madison to 12 shots, with only four of those on goal. Sebolao finished with a pair of saves.
• Towson's defense played smart across the back, forcing the Dukes into three offsides whistles. Towson was called just once for an offsides.
• Ashley Herndon struck her seventh goal of the year for James Madison to break the deadlock in the 53rd minute. Sydney Braun-McLeod, who led the game with five shots, was given the assist after sending in a cross.
• The Dukes, who checked in ranked fifth in this week's NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings, got an insurance goal from Allie Brunner, her sixth of the season, as Kelly Kerrigan slipped a through-ball to Brunner.
• Down but not out, junior Tiger Natalia Pinkney tucked away her fifth of the season to cut James Madison's lead in half. The sure-footed Pinkney dribbled to evade a Duke defender and finished in the 78th minute to give Towson a chance. 

Behind the Numbers

• The 2-1 loss was Towson's first defeat in the month of September, snapping an eight-game unbeaten streak.
• Six of the last seven games between the Tigers and Dukes have been decided by one goal. James Madison remains undefeated in the series at 14-0-0.
• Freshman Alexis Toles made her first appearance on the Tigers backline since suffering a lower body injury on Sept. 6 at Iona College in a 1-0 Tiger victory.

Up Next for the Tigers
The Tigers are off on Sunday for a bye, but continue a three-game road streak next Friday as Towson continues CAA play at Drexel's Vidas Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in West Philadelphia. Drexel was tabbed sixth in the most recent NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Rankings.

What They're Saying
Towson Head Coach Greg Paynter
I thought we went toe-to-toe with JMU and certainly had some great chances. They created better chances in the second half than we did. The James Madison goalie made some good saves. We couldn't break through until the end with Nat's goal.
 
On Putting Majority of Shots on Goal
It was a combination of us not taking the best shots and their keeper making some good saves in the first half. We didn't capitalize on our first few chances, but the first 45 minutes was some of the best soccer I've seen us play.
 
On James Madison Scoring First
That first goal took the wind out of our sails. They capitalized on us being down and scored quickly. We were on our heels and JMU took it to us. We were able to chip away and get that goal late in the game.