James Madison women beat UNC Wilmington

WILMINGTON, N.C., Oct. 10, 2010 - James Madison junior Ariana Ruela (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) scored the deciding goal with 19:48 left to lift the Dukes to a 2-1 win at North Carolina Wilmington in Colonial Athletic Association women's soccer Sunday afternoon.

JMU's record now stands at 8-6-0 overall and 4-2-0 in CAA competition.  UNCW has a 7-7-0 record and is 4-2-0 in the CAA.

The Dukes are locked in a three-way tie with George Mason and UNCW for third place in the CAA standings.  However, JMU holds the tie-breaker with its 2010 wins over both teams.

Hofstra (6-0) is the CAA leader and Georgia State (4-1-1) is in second place.  Both of JMU's CAA losses were to those teams.

Freshman Haley Miller (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) set up the game-winning score with a through ball to Ruela, who scored on a shot to the lower left corner of the goal.

JMU never trailed in the match, getting on the scoreboard first when senior Teresa Rynier (Leola, Pa./Conestoga Valley) lofted a ball from 40 yards out that sailed just under the crossbar 26:23 into the game.

UNCW got the equalizer on a free kick from 35 yards by Lindsay Henry 7:50 into the  second half.

JMU out-shot UNCW 20-13.  Redshirt senior goalkeeper Diane Wszalek (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) made two saves for the Dukes, and UNCW goalie Caitlin Hunter finished with 10 saves.

"It was a great win on the road." JMU head coach Dave Lombardo said.  "They're a good team, well coached.  We played well enough to get the win, and I was happy to get the three points (in the CAA standings).  It was nice to get a little revenge from last year's CAA tournament loss (when the Dukes lost 1-0 to UNCW on a penalty kick in the tournament final)."