JMU MENS SOCCER NEWSLETTER

Issue 1

JMU
Mens
Soccer

Newsletter

#GODUKES

DECEMBER 7, 2015

Foley Guides Dukes in First

Year

Goalies are also responsible for

organizing the defense, a role that
requires constant communication and
vision. These are mandatory skills for
a good coach to have. The ability to
see the big picture will lead to
achieving big goals.

As[Article
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of I Heard
by

It Through
The Grapevine blared through the
speakers of University Park, James
Madison mens soccer head coach
Tom Foley looked up and remarked,
You know, Ive never heard this
version of this song before.

became a hindrance to his coaching,

it was time to find a replacement. The
JMU administration looked within
and promoted Foley, who had been
the associate head coach since 2009.
He had also been an assistant coach
under Martin from 1997-2003.

The moment was indicative of

Foleys style as a coach. The Dukes
were about to open the season by
hosting Iona, the first game with
Foley as head coach, and the
Billerica, Mass., native was laidback.
At his core just a coach content to be
around the game.

Beyond already being a part of the

JMU coaching staff, Foley was a
standout goalkeeper in his playing
days. He guarded the University of
Connecticuts net from 1987 until
1991, participating in three NCAA
tournaments along the way. In 1987,
he was the Big East Freshman of the
Year and a Freshman All-American.
He was named Big East Tournament
MVP in 1989 after helping lead the
Huskies to the tourney title.

For the previous 29 years, James

Madison mens soccer was under the
direction of Dr. Tom Martin, one of
the most successful coaches in
NCAA history. He led the Dukes to
multiple NCAA tournament
appearances and spurred the
professional careers of dozens of
players. When the health of Martin

Goalkeepers naturally make good

coaches. With the entire field in front
of them, they see everything unfold,
the way ball movement and off-theball runs create scoring chances.

Foleys defensive background was

reflected in the 2015 JMU team, a
squad that held a 1.63 goals against
average (GAA). The starting
goalkeeper, redshirt junior Kyle
Morton, individually held a 1.28
GAA and was selected to the AllColonial Athletic Association (CAA)
Third Team with teammate senior
defender Bjarki Adalsteinsson.
Despite experience on the back line,
the Dukes struggled to find results
early in the season. The home opener
against Iona ended in a 1-1 draw in a
gritty, physical match that saw 35
fouls, five yellow cards, and a red
card. The Gaels forced JMU into a
scrappy game, but the Dukes proved
they were not going to back down
from a challenge. This was a team
with fight.

JMU MENS SOCCER NEWSLETTER | Issue 1

"I've got to give our guys credit,

Foley said after the game. They
battled through a lot of different types
of adversity tonight and continued to
give themselves chances to win the
match."
But after the draw on opening night,
JMU would lose five straight games,
four without scoring a goal. Without
Josh Grant and Jonathan Barden, who
had both graduated and accounted for
over a third of the teams scoring in
2014, the Dukes were struggling to
find consistent offense.
A stoic presence on the sidelines,
only occasionally leaving his seat to
give instruction, Foley did not panic.
With some tweaks to the lineup, the
Dukes started to turn the corner as
CAA play began. While the back line
was solid, JMU was losing
possession in the middle of the field
and failing to get the ball to its
dangerous attacking players. Foley,
the veteran defensive coach, called on
senior defender Daniel Roppert to
step into a new role: central defensive
midfielder.
Roppert, whose position at center
back had been taken over by redshirt
junior Rhys Howard, had his career
rejuvenated. He also allowed JMUs
4-3-3 formation to work smoothly.
With a steady defensive presence in
front of the back line, things opened
up for creative midfielder freshman
Thomas Shores to work on the ball
and find forwards Billy Metzler, Eric
Schmidt, Connor Coward and Joe
Vyner.
With a revamped lineup, JMU went
3-3-2 in CAA play, the exact record
that earned them the sixth seed in the
CAA tournament in 2014, a
tournament they would win on
Cowards goal against Delaware.
JMU hosted No. 18 UNCW, Oct. 3
and battled to a 0-0 draw, a
significant result against a strong
opponent. The game was played on a
turf practice field after heavy rains

rendered the grass surface

unplayable.
"It just goes to show what
the guys can do when they
play with determination,"
Foley said. "It was a
fantastic defensive effort,
and in odd conditions, we
were able to come away
with a result against a very
good UNCW team."
With a berth in the CAA
tournament on the line,
JMU defeated No. 17
Hofstra 2-0 on Senior
Night, Oct. 31. The win
gave JMU the fifth seed and a trip to
Charleston to face the Cougars in the
quarterfinals. Behind goals from two
players who hadnt scored all season,
freshman forward Aaron WardBaptiste and redshirt junior
midfielder Tom Fouhy, the Dukes
won 3-2 in South Carolina before
falling 2-0 at Hofstra in the CAA
semifinals.
JMU finished the 2015 season with
five wins, 10 losses, and four ties, but
a 0.368 winning percentage doesnt
reflect the quality of work shown.
Foley took a team in transition,
without consistent offensive
production and used an old-school
defensive approach to record a
respectable CAA campaign, with five
players being named to All-CAA
teams.
They created some building blocks
for us to move forward with the
program, Foley said of the effort of
the team at the end of the season.
The biggest thing we can take from
this season, and the five guys that
were given awards at the end of the
season deserve a lot of credit, but
theyre all team awards. Give the
guys credit for reestablishing what
JMU soccer is all about in a
competitive nature.
###

(Pictured
Left)
Head
Coach
Tom
Foley led
JMU to a
CAA
semifinals
berth.

Sapong Starts Fresh

C.J. Sapong, a 2010 alumnus of James
Madison mens soccer, has revitalized
his professional career with the
Philadelphia Union. Sapong was the
Major League Soccer Rookie of the
Year in 2011 following a campaign of
six goals in 38 appearances for
Sporting Kansas City, including a
playoff goal. 2012 saw even more
production with the Manassas, Va.,
native finding the net 11 times and
earning a call-up to the U.S. mens
national team. But as forward Dom
Dwyer emerged for SKC, Sapongs
role diminished. He was so rarely used
that he was sent to Orlando City,
SKCs USL Pro affiliate, for four
games. Before the 2015 season, the
Union traded their highest 2015 draft
pick for Sapong, giving him a fresh
start with a team in need of his skill set.
In his first season in the City of
Brotherly Love, Sapong stepped into a
starting forward role and scored nine
goals in 24 games. He has once again
found the form that propelled him to
success at Madison.

JMU MENS SOCCER NEWSLETTER | Issue 1

right-footed shot past Pray. The goals

were a product of long spells of
possession by the Dukes in the first
half, an edge reflected in JMUs 7-3
advantage in first-half shots.
go down quietly and the Pride pushed
back in the second half, registering
nine shots in the period. Redshirt
junior goalkeeper Kyle Morton made
seven saves on the night, including
six in the second half. It was the
second-highest save total for the
goaltender this season.

Not only was this an important win in

securing postseason play, it was also
a special way for the senior class to
play their last home game. Schmidt,
who scored the game-winning goal,
had the best season of his career in
2015. The Arlington, Va., native had
three goals in his first three seasons
combined and scored three goals
throughout 2015. Roppert, who had
the game-winning assist, used 2015
to revitalize his career in a new role,
starting at defensive midfielder
instead of riding the bench as a center
back.

The Pride saw a number of scoring

chances come in the form of set
pieces. Senior defender Bjarki
Adalsteinsson and the JMU back line
had to clear 12 Hofstra corner kicks
to earn their fourth clean sheet of the
season.

Adalsteinsson cemented himself as

one of the best defenders in the
conference and was a team captain.
Senior goalkeeper Andres Neira
registered six saves over the first two
games of his career against West
Virginia and Virginia.

Dukes Net Big Win

on Senior Night A quality team like Hofstra will not

by Name Style
Oct. 31 was a huge moment in the
2015 season for the James Madison
mens soccer team. On the last day of
the regular season, and the last home
game of four seniors careers, the
Dukes needed a result to qualify for
the Colonial Athletic Association
tournament. A task made tougher by
the fact that JMU was hosting
Hofstra, the 17th-ranked team in the
country and the top side in the
conference.

The Dukes came out of the gates hot,

scoring twice in the first 23 minutes
to secure a 2-0 win and the fifth seed
in the CAA tourney. Senior forward
Eric Schmidt found the back of the
net six and a half minutes into the
game when he pounced on a rebound
and fired the Dukes into the lead. The
opportunity came when senior
defender Daniel Ropperts free kick
was saved by Hofstra goalkeeper
Patric Pray and the ball bounced to
the feet of Schmidt.
Redshirt junior forward Connor
Coward doubled the lead midway
through the first half. Redshirt
sophomore Toby Appleton played a
long ball over the top of the Pride
back line, allowing Coward to place a

JMU IN 2015 BY THE NUMBERS

5-10-4 Record

20 Goals Scored

10 points for Connor

Coward

5 All-CAA selections

1.28 Goals Against

Average for Kyle Morton

I think the guys made great

decisions tonight. The work rate and
effort was fantastic from everyone
who played, said head coach Tom
Foley. We should enjoy this match
tonight because the team worked
hard for it. Well prepare for
whatever team we face next, but we
will enjoy this win tonight.
This is the second consecutive season
JMU has made the CAA tournament.
In 2014 the Dukes were the last team
in as the sixth seed. They went on to
beat Hofstra, UNCW and Delaware,
the top three seeds, and win the CAA
Championship.

Although the Dukes would eventually

fall in the semifinals of the CAA
tournament, the win certainly
provided some momentum for the
2016 season.

The senior class honored before the game.

About JMU
James Madison University is located in Harrisonburg, Va. in the scenic Shenandoah Valley
with an enrollment of 20,200. JMUs athletic department sponsors 18 NCAA sports,
including 12 womens teams and six mens teams, competing at the Division I level. It is
the goal of the department to be the national model for the student-athlete experience.

Follow @JMUSports and @JMUMSoccer on Twitter for the latest updates on the
Dukes!