HARRISONBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's soccer team dropped its Colonial Athletic Association opener 2-0 at James Madison on Thursday night. With the setback, the Tribe falls to 4-6-0, 0-1-0 in CAA play, while James Madison improves to 6-4-0, 1-0-0 in league action.
 
After a scoreless first half, James Madison jumped on the board with the match's first goal in the 53rd minute. On a broken, play Gigner Deel collected a failed clearance at the top of the box and placed her shot into the left upper 90 to put the Dukes ahead 1-0. 
 
Against the run of play, the Dukes added the insurance goal with just under five minutes to play. Carmen Thomas took the ball from midfield to just inside of the 18 and placed her shot to the top left corner of the net to seal the victory.
 
William & Mary had a few chances at the equalizer earlier in the second half. The Tribe had a pair of chances 76th and 77th minute. The first was the strongest, when senior Sami Grasso raced to the end lined and had her chance stopped by a diving Olivia Miller. Off the ensuing corner kick, the clearance pinballed to freshman Erin Dailey, who took a shot from distance but it was right at Miller.
 
W&M Starters -  Smith (GK), Grasso, Branton, Moore, Kober, Kelly, Kent, Robbins, Hyland, Miles, Keith
 
James Madison Starters – Miller (GK), Tack, Caston, Crawford, Deel, Stein, Hendrie, Lazzaro, Foley, Brause, Thomas
 
Goals
53' | Ginger Deel (JMU) (unassisted)
86' | Carmen Thomas (JMU) (unassisted)
 
Inside the Numbers
- James Madison held a 14-7 advantage in shots in the match, which included an 11-5 mark in the second half.
- The Dukes also held a 5-2 mark in corner kicks on the evening.
- Senior Sami Grasso tied for a match-high three shots to lead the Tribe.
 
Notes
Freshman Courtney Miles earned first career start tonight for the Green and Gold … It was the fourth straight match that a Tribe player has earned her first career start … Redshirt senior goalkeeper Grace Smith made a season-high six saves in the match for W&M. With the win, JMU draws closer in the overall series to  21-14-4 .. The Tribe is now just 3-3 in its last six CAA openers, however the previous five seasons W&M has qualified for at least the CAA Semifinals.
 
Quotable
"I thought we fought very hard tonight, and had some good chances that didn't fall our way. Unfortunately, we made two mistakes that cost us." – John Daly
 
What's Ahead
W&M concludes its two-game CAA opening road trip on Sunday, Sept. 24 when they take on Drexel. Kickoff for that match is now set for 2 p.m.