Luke Brown set up Hofstra’s lone goal. (Photo courtesy of Hofstra SID)

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Hofstra University sophomore Matthew Vowinkel tied the game at 1-1 with a goal in the 81st minute but the top-seed Dukes of James Madison outscored the third-seed Pride, 4-2 in the shootout to give hosts the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association championship at Sentara Park Sunday afternoon.

JMU (12-4-3) booked a spot in the NCAA Division I men’s tournament later this week and will discover its opponent on Monday at 1 p.m. when the NCAA Championship field is revealed.

While JMU advanced with its sixth CAA title, the game goes down officially as a 1-1 draw. Manuel Ferriol, who tallied the game’s first goal and then the game-deciding penalty kick, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

Hofstra concluded its season with a 10-6-5 record after making its seventh CAA Championship game appearance. Three Hofstra players earned CAA Championship All-Tournament honors with senior Sean Nealis, junior Luke Brown and sophomore George O’Malley receiving the accolades.

The chilly conditions did not stymie a spirited and intense first half for both teams. While Hofstra goalkeeper Alex Ashton made both saves of the half, it was the Dukes who jumped on the scoreboard first in the 10th minute. Junior Manuel Ferriol took a low cross from Petur Thorsteinsson on the right side of the box and slid the ball past Ashton for a 1-0 lead.

The Pride had two good chances off corner kicks in the first 45 minutes but the JMU defense thwarted its attack.

As in its semifinal contest, the Pride came roaring back in the second half and outshot the Dukes, 6-4. The visitors’ hard-work paid off at 80:15 when junior Luke Brown sent a cross across the crease to Vowinkel, who knocked it past keeer TJ Bush for his eighth goal of the year to knot the game at 1-1.

The two, 10-minute extratime periods failed to decide the contest as each team took three shots in the two periods, sending the game to penalty kicks. The Dukes, shooting first, converted all four of their penalty kicks while the Pride missed its first and fourth kicks.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.