11-10-24
After the conclusion of a hard-fought regular season, the SBC second-seeded Marshall Thundering Herd hosted the seventh-seeded Old Dominion Monarchs at Hoops Family Field for a Sunday afternoon quarterfinal matchup. Marshall earned its spot with a 4-0-5 conference record, while ODU posted a 3-5-1 conference record.
The match began with Old Dominion putting pedal to the metal, tallying three shots within the first 13 minutes, but two saves by Marshall’s redshirt-freshman goalie Dan Rose kept the game scoreless.
The Thundering Herd proceeded to fire the next four shots in the contest, but three were off-frame and only one required a simple save from ODU’s junior goalkeeper Michael Statham. Statham made his 50th career start on Sunday, as he has started every game over the past three seasons for the Monarchs except for one during his freshman year.
The game was broken open by Old Dominion in the 35th minute it had a 3-on-2 situation, and freshman Marcelo Randolf hit graduate student Noah Madrigal in stride, allowing him to bury a shot from the 18-yard box into the bottom right corner of the net.
The Monarchs remained in control to finish out the first half, but could not find the back of the net, keeping the 1-0 scoreline as the teams went into the locker room.
Both teams struggled to find their footing in the second half, with neither side able to accumulate a truly threatening attack. However, that would change in the 75th minute as the ball bounced up and contacted graduate student defender Lewis Redding’s arm in the box, awarding the Thundering Herd with a penalty kick. The experienced midfield senior Pablo Simon stepped up to take the shot and buried it into the right side of the net, giving Marshall the equalizer it needed.
The game would turn to absolute mayhem from that point on, as 12 shots and three goals would transpire in the final 16 minutes.
Less than three minutes after the penalty kick, Herd sophomore forward Joao Roberto found space at the top of the 18-yard box, but his shot bounced off the woodwork. The ball would deflect right back toward him though, and he struck the ball beautifully off the bottom of the crossbar and down into the net.
During the next ten minutes, the Thundering Herd would fire four shots, and the Monarchs hammered two of their own. In the 87th minute, Marshall’s senior forward sent a cross to the six-yard box, where Thundering Herd sophomore defender Rai Pinto would finish it and give the Herd a 3-1 lead.
It seemed as if that closed the door on ODU’s chances, but the Monarchs thought otherwise. Having only 2:42 left on the clock, junior forward Michael Eberle sent in an impressive cross, and junior defender Evan Watt was able to rise and head the ball over Rose and into the goal. Leaving the Monarchs some hope as they had some time left to equalize.
Evan Watt had one last chance with 90 seconds left to head another ball in, but it sailed high of the net. Marshall celebrated as the final whistle blew, resulting in a 3-2 victory for the Herd.
Marshall will remain at home, as it faces off against James Madison University at Hoops Family Field at 7 p.m. on Wednesday for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinal. A matchup that resulted in a 2-2 draw during the regular season.