HARRISONBURG, Va. – After facing off in the regular season earlier in the year, James Madison will be looking to avenge its loss against Georgetown, the fourth seed in the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship and the third ranked side in the country, as they meet in the second round on Sunday, Nov. 19 at Shaw Field for a noon kickoff.
Who: James Madison Dukes (9-4-5, 4-2-3 SBC) at #3 Georgetown Hoyas (13-2-3, 6-1-1 Big East)
What: Second Round of the 2023 NCAA Championship
Where: Shaw Field – Washington, D.C.
When: Sunday, Nov. 19 at noon
How to Watch: ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN app (subscription required)
How to Follow: NCAA.com
Know More: JMU Match Notes
Social Media: @JMUMSoccer, #GoDukes, #NCAASoccer
Scouting the Dukes
- James Madison earned its first NCAA Championship win since 2018, knocking off Pitt, 3-2, in the first round behind Rodrigo Robles’ brace.
- Robles has the most points on the Dukes since 2019 with 24, leading the side with nine goals and tying for the lead in assists with Kevin Larsson at six. Robles is also tied with Clay Obara and Cameron Arnold for the shots lead at 33, while Obara has a team-leading 23 shots on goal.
- Sebastian Conlon has spent 1585:04 between the posts this season, posting a GAA of 1.31 with 47 saves to his name. He has two solo shutouts and two combined shutouts.
Scouting the Hoyas
- Georgetown has not loss a match in seven straight and forced Xavier into a shootout in the Big East title match after neither side could score. Xavier would win the title over the Hoyas in a six-round shootout, winning 5-4.
- The attack for GU runs through Jacob Murrell, as the All-Big East First Team selection leads the side in goals (11), shots on goal (20), points (26) and shots (38). Marlon Tabora leads the side in assists with eight and adds four goals for 16 points.
- Two netminders have spent time in goal this season, with Ryan Schewe playing the majority of minutes at 1,190. He has a GAA of 0.83 with 28 saves and five shutouts.
All-Time Series
- James Madison and Georgetown meet for the second time this season and eighth overall. JMU holds a 4-3 record in the all-time series.
- Once again, the sides will meet in Washington, D.C. this season, as the Hoyas came away with a 2-0 victory during the regular season.
- The Dukes are 1-2 on the road against the GU. The lone road matches are a 1-0 JMU win in 1986 and a 1-0 victory for the Hoyas in 2013.
- This will be the first time the sides have faced off in the postseason and the highest ranked Georgetown side the Dukes have faced since at least the 1989 meeting. The previous highest ranked Georgetown side JMU placed was a fifth-ranked side in 2012.
Honors Won in the Sun Belt Conference
- JMU had four representatives on the All-Sun Belt Teams with a pair of selections on both the First Team and Second Team.
- Clay Obara and Luca Nikolai were selected to the First Team as a midfielder and a defender, respectively. Rodrigo Robles was a Second Team selection as a forward while Kevin Larsson earned a Second Team nod as a midfielder.
Dance the Night Away
- The Dukes are making their 16th appearance in the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship and their first appearance since winning the 2020 CAA title.
- It is the first at-large bid for JMU into the national tournament since 2011 and eighth overall in program history.
- One of the three Elite Eight runs by JMU, the furthest the Dukes have reached in the tournament, came on an at-large bid in 1995
Harrisonburg > Pittsburgh
- JMU went to Pitt in the first round and earned a 3-2 win to advance to the second round. Alex Krakowiak scored his first career goal before Rodrigo Robles netted his first brace as a Duke.
- It is the Dukes’ first win in the national tournament since 2018 and third straight win against the ACC in the tournament.
- The three goals tie for the most JMU has scored in an NCAA Championship match, marking the fourth time it has scored a trio of goals.
Offense is Burnin’ Up
- JMU’s offense has been prolific this season as it ranks eighth nationally in shot accuracy (0.502), 10th in shots on goal per game (6.83), 11th in assists per game (2.33) and points per game (6.78), 14th in scoring offense (2.22) and 25th in goal differential (17). It is also the ninth side in the country to have 40 goals and 40 assists.
- It is the first time since 2004 that the Dukes are averaging at least two goals per game. The average of 2.22 goals per game is the most for JMU since averaging 2.23 goals per game in 2000.
- JMU has five point scorers in double-digits for the first time since 2004 and it is the first time since 2000 where all five are at 11 or more points.
- The Dukes have scored in 16 of 18 matches this season, scoring multiple goals in 11 matches.
- A total of 12 Dukes have recorded an assist this season, with three Dukes recording at least five assists for the first time since 2004.
RR9 Doing RR9 Things
- Rodrigo Robles has had a season to remember in his final year.
- With the brace against Pitt in the first round, he has become the 12th active player to record 20 goals and 20 assists in a career at the Division I level.
- He’s the first to record a point in six straight matches since 2019 and the first to score in four consecutive since 2021.
What’s Next
The winner of this second-round match will take on the winner of 13th-seeded UCLA and Loyola Marymount in the third round. The dates of all third-round matches will be determined after the second round, with all matches either being played on Saturday, Nov. 25 or Sunday, Nov. 26.