Wildcats Battle to Scoreless Draw at James Madison
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Kentucky Wildcats (1-9-4, 1-4-2 SBC) battled to a scoreless draw tonight against the Sun Belt’s top seed James Madison Dukes (7-5-3, 4-1-2 SBC) on the road in Harrisonburg, Va.
James Madison created the game’s first goal scoring opportunity in the 19th minute with a shot by defender Pieter Hengeveld, forcing Kentucky goalkeeper Benjamin Rasmussen to make his first of three saves of the night, diving to his right to keep the scoreline level at 0-0.
Four minutes later, Eric Onos recorded the Wildcats’ first shot on goal in the 23rd minute, but Dukes keeper Erik Jaspers was equal to it to make his first save of the game. The score continued to hold at 0-0 heading into the halftime break.
Neither side was able to generate much offensive production in the second half of play with just three total shots on goal being recorded over the final 45 minutes.
In the 87th minute, midfielder Yasha Schaerer nearly grabbed a late winner for the Wildcats with an impressive strike from just outside the 18-yard box but was kept out by Jaspers with a full stretch save.
The full-time whistle would blow with the score remaining 0-0 as the Wildcats snapped a four-game losing streak and earned a crucial point in an effort to qualify for the SBC Tournament.
The game’s final stat line finished relatively evenly for both sides with JMU controlling an 11-9 advantage in total shots, including a 3-2 split in shots on goal. With the draw, the Wildcats record moves to 1-4-2 with five points in Sun Belt Conference play, currently sitting in ninth place with two matches remaining in the regular season.
The Wildcats will return to Lexington for their final home match of the 2026 season on Friday, Oct. 30 against the Georgia Southern Eagles at 7 p.m. ET.
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