Marshall Men’s Soccer Preview
By Shane Darling, FM88 Sports Director
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) — Marshall University ends its homecoming weekend with one of the most anticipated collegiate soccer events in the country: the Mountain State Derby. The Herd Men’s Soccer Team plays host to the West Virginia Mountaineers on Sunday night. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m.
It is a rivalry on the pitch that dates back to 1983. West Virginia leads the all-time series with 18 wins, 9 losses and 4 draws. However, the Herd seems to have the Mountaineers’ number as of late. Last season, Marshall won in double overtime in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament after WVU beat the Herd in the regular season. In 2024, both times the two squads matched up resulted in scoreless draws. In 2023, the Herd won 3-2. In the last five Mountain State Derbies, Marshall has gone 2-1-2 and has won once and drawn once in the only two matchups that were in Huntington.
Although, this season has not gone as cleanly as the Herd (4-1-2) would have liked. The Herd sits as the first team outside of the NCAA Top 25 United Soccer Coaches Poll. This is the second week in a row that Marshall has been unranked. Last week was the first time in over 2,500 days that the Thundering Herd was not featured in the top 25.
West Virginia (5-1-1) is ranked 21st in the nation and is on a four-game winning streak. The Mountaineers have not lost a game in over a month and have gone unbeaten in their last six
matchups. WVU opened conference play with a 1-0 victory over Georgia State last Thursday at home. The Mountaineers ride momentum from a 1-0 victory in its most previous matchup on Tuesday against Duquesne at home.
Marshall picked up three points in its opening conference game as well with a 1-0 victory at Kentucky last Friday. The Herd comes off a 2-1 victory over Eastern Illinois at home on Tuesday.
The Thundering Herd is led by Joshua Nugent with four goals on the season. Thiago Apolinario is right behind him with three. However, Carl Romberg is the team’s primary playmaker with two goals and two assists on the year. In the net is freshman Yurij Obert. Obert has one shutout on the season and has allowed eight goals with 17 saves, good for a 68% save percentage.
Pablo Pozos headlines WVU with four goals and two assists on the season, good enough for a tie for third in the Sun Belt Conference in points with ten. Sammie Walker has tacked on two goals and two assists for WVU on the year as well. Mountaineer goalkeeper Toby Mawer has recorded four shutouts and nine saves while conceding five goals this season, good for a 64% save percentage.
You can tune in to Sunday’s game on 88.1 WMUL-FM or on Stream 1 online at www.marshall.edu/wmul. FM88 Sports’ Rhys Owens and Owen James will be on the call with pregame starting at 7 p.m.