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HARRISONBURG, Va. – Brian Wright scored once and added an assist to lead the Vermont Catamounts to a 2-0 shutout at James Madison in the 2014 men's soccer season opener.
 
"This was a good result in a tough place to play and come away from with a win. I thought we were very effective. We adapted to what they were trying to do and found ways to put together a good opening day under difficult circumstances," said Vermont head coach Jesse Cormier. "Our front two were very good on the counter and I also compliment Conor (Leland) who was able get a clean sheet and manage everything they threw at us."
 
Wright scored his first goal of the season in the fourth minute to put UVM up 1-0. He trapped a long service from teammate Brad Cole with his chest, brought the ball down to his right foot and one-timed the ball past JMU goalkeeper Kyle Morton.
 
JMU's best scoring chance came in the 20th minute but Conor Leland was able to snuff out a bicycle kick attempt by the Dukes.
 
Despite owning a 17-11 edge in shots and an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks, the Dukes could not get one past Leland who earned his 14th career shutout to move into sixth among the all-time goalkeeping leaders at Vermont.
 
Vermont added an insurance goal in the final five minutes of the match. Wright slipped a through pass between JMU defenders to find teammate Shane Haley. Haley collected the pass in stride and was able to beat Morton in a one-on-one challenge for his first goal of the year.
 
Both goalkeepers finished the game with four stops in their respective nets.
 
Vermont closes out the trip to Harrisonburg with a Sunday afternoon match versus Appalachian State. Kickoff is set for noon.
 
ATTENTION MEN'S SOCCER ALUMNI
All men's soccer alumni are invited to be guests of the team at the Morgan Stanley Windjammer Classic for the game and the team tailgate following.  Please RSVP to our Victory Club office at 802-656-0956 or Victory.Club@uvm.edu to reserve your tickets by Thursday, September 4.
 
NOTES: Arthur Baquet, Jaime Miralles, and Eamon Kitson made their collegiate debuts tonight  … Gideon Rosenthal made his first career start and Brad Cole returned to play for UVM for the first time since 2011 … Conor Leland earned his 17th career win at UVM, 14 have been shutouts … Vermont is 9-1-1 in season openers under head coach Jesse Cormier … This was the first-ever meeting between UVM and JMU in men's soccer.