HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison makes its fifth ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship Round of 16 as it travels to No. 25 Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Nov. 25 for a 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT kickoff at Sullivan Field.
 
 Who: James Madison Dukes (10-4-5, 4-2-3 SBC) at No. 25 Loyola Marymount Lions (9-4-6, 2-2-3 WCC)
What: Round of 16 of the 2023 NCAA Championship
Where: Sullivan Field – Los Angeles, Calif.
When: Saturday, Nov. 25 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
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 took down a seeded side for the third time in program history as the blanked fourth-seeded Georgetown, 1-0, to advance to the round of 16 for the fifth time in program history.
• Rodrigo 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 leads the side in shots with 34, while Obara has a team-leading 23 shots on goal.
• Sebastian Conlon has spent 1675:04 between the posts this season, posting a GAA of 1.24 with 49 saves to his name. He has three solo shutouts and two combined shutouts.

 
Scouting the Lions

• Loyola Marymount is coming off a 1-0 win over the 13-seed in the tournament in UCLA in the second round. After falling in the final two matches of the regular season, the Lions have picked up back-to-back wins in the national tournament.
• Tyger Smalls leads the attack for the Lions, leading the side in goals (seven), points (14) and shots (37). Second in goals and points in Ryan Kingsford, who leads the side in shots on goal with 20. He and Jovan Prado are tied for the assists lead with three apiece.
• Having spent over 90% of the minutes in goal this season is Massimo Oedekoven Pomponi, as he’s been in between the posts for 1575:27. He has a GAA of 0.97 with 72 saves and seven shutouts.

 
Series History

• James Madison and Loyola Marymount are meeting for the first time ever.

 
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.

 
Materazzi and Nikolai Earn National Honors

• Davide Materazzi was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week while Luca Nikolai earned a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week.
• Playing a full 90 minutes on the backline at Pitt, Materazzi helped Pitt to only four shots on goal before sinking a penalty kick for the winning goal against Georgetown and holding the Hoyas to just two shots on goal.
• Nikolai recorded his fourth assist of the season on the game-winning goal against Pitt before aiding on the backline to shutout Georgetown. He also drew the foul in the box that set up the penalty kick for Materazzi to convert.

 
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.
• Advancing to the third round for the first time since 2018, JMU is making its fifth appearance in the round of 16 in program history.

 
Dukes of Hazard

• JMU has won its first match in the NCAA Championship since 2018, as well as it’s won multiple matches in the national tournament for the first time since the 2018 run.
• After knocking off Pitt, 3-2, the Dukes then snapped Georgetown’s 16-match home unbeaten streak by shutting them out, 1-0. It was the first time since 2018 the Hoyas were shutout at Shaw Field, a span of 60 matches.
• By knocking off the fourth seed in the tournament in GU, the Dukes moved to 3-2 against seeded sides and have beaten the last three seeded sides they have faced.

 
Road Dawgs

• Knocking off the third ranked Hoyas moved the Dukes to a 2-1-1 record this season against teams ranked in the top three in the nation.
• In addition to the win over #3 Georgetown, the Dukes have also beaten #1 UCF and drew #3 West Virginia.
• Since playing its final match at home on Oct. 27, JMU is 3-1 with the lone loss being a neutral sited match.

 
The Zazenski Effect

• With the pair of NCAA Championship wins this season, Paul Zazenski becomes the first JMU head coach to win five tournament matches.
• The Dukes have faced five seeded sides in the national tournament with three wins, all coming with Zazenski at the helm of the program.
• JMU has appeared in the round of 16 four previous times in program history with one of those being in Zazenski’s first season as head coach.
• Zazenski has won at led the Dukes to an NCAA appearance in four of his six seasons at the helm and has hit at least 10 wins in four of five full fall seasons.

 
Offense is Burnin’ Up

• JMU’s offense has been prolific this season as it ranks 10th nationally in shot accuracy (0.496), tied for 12th in total goals (41), 13th in points per game (6.53) and shots on goal per game (6.63), 14th in assists per game (2.21), tied for 14th in scoring offense (2.16), tied for 16th in total assists (42) and 23rd in goal differential (18).
• The Dukes are one of 11 side in the country to have 40 goals and 40 assists this season and one of six remaining sides left in the tournament. Of the six, they are one of two unseeded sides.
• It is the first time since 2004 that the Dukes are averaging at least two goals per game. The average of 2.21 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 17 of 19 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.

 
What’s Next

• The winner between the Dukes and Lions will take on the winner of No. 5 West Virginia and Vermont in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Saturday, Dec. 2 or Sunday, Dec. 3.