By: Anthony Doria, FM88 Sports
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WMUL-FM)- Marshall Men’s Soccer (9-2-4, 5-1-2 SBC) returns to Huntington for one last time in the 2026 season as the Herd welcomes the Old Dominion Monarchs (10-5-1, 2-5-1 SBC) to Hoops Family Field on Tuesday.
The final matches of conference play are beginning, with big tournament implications all around the conference.
Marshall is getting hot at the perfect time. The Herd has won five straight games; with these results, Marshall is back in the top 25 and in a tie for first place in the conference with rival West Virginia.
The Herd is coming off a huge 2-1 win against 23rd-ranked South Carolina last Friday. Marshall only had two shots on goal, but that was all they needed to score twice. A towering bicycle kick from Haruhi Taneda and a sizzling line drive from Goncalo Machado gave Marshall both of their goals, which was good enough for the win.
Another big player in the win was goalkeeper Alan Horrocks. Ever since returning to the net, Horrocks has been a big piece of Marshall’s success. In his appearances since returning to the net, Horrocks has made 15 saves and only allowed 5 goals, and has had two clean sheets during that stretch. Horrocks also made 4 huge saves against the Gamecocks to keep Marshall in control of the contest.
The win was also Marshall’s first ranked win of the season and fourth straight road win of the season.
Leading the way for Marshall will be Carl Romberg. Romberg leads Marshall in points with 13 and is second on the team with 4 goals. His energy and quickness make him a threat every time he touches the ball. The Monarchs are gonna need some extra charge in them to stop the fast-paced Romberg.
The Monarchs are coming off a 1-1 draw to James Madison last Friday. Old Dominion was trailing with 30 seconds to go but was able to capitalize on a free kick to earn a point against a very tough Dukes team.
The Monarchs started the year 7-0 but have not been able to keep the pace up in conference play. ODU has only earned seven points with two wins and a draw on Friday, which has placed them second-to-last in the Sun Belt.
Lewis Rourke leads the charge for Old Dominion. The senior leads the Monarchs with nine goals and 22 points on the season. Rourke also won Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week earlier in the season, making him a player that Marshall will have to track the entire match.
You can listen to live coverage of the match on FM88.1 or stream at www.marshall.edu/wmul on Stream 1 with FM88 Sports’ Max Chaffin and Anthony Doria on the call, with pregame coverage scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and first touch at 7:15 p.m.