Marshall University Athletics
Herd Thunders To 9-0 Win Over Battlers
10/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Herd Thunders To 9-0 Win Over Battlers
10/22/2003
- Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. ? Freshmen Michael McDonald (Luton, England)and Peter Reush (Washington, D.C.) had five point games as the Thundering Herd men?s soccer team played their strongest game of the year, defeating the Alderson-Broaddus Battlers, 9-0, Tuesday night at Sam Hood Field.
Marshall Coach Bob Gray was proud of the effort. ?They came out with a lot of intensity,? Gray said. ?This was a test to get us going.?
?Tonight we created some opportunities and finished well, we knocked the ball around and played as a unit.?
McDonald tallied his first point of the game at the 18 minute mark when he directed a corner kick to Graham Prather (Richmond, VA) who fired it in to give the Herd a 1-0 lead.
Less than ten minutes later, the Thundering Herd added another goal as Kirk Gibson (Allen, TX) took a pass from Firas Al-Samarraie (Malmoe, Sweded) and kicked it past Battler goalie Phil Smith.
Marshall got their third goal of the period when Michael McDonald took a pass from Kirk Gibson and scored - giving Marshall a 3-0 lead at the half.
The team came out strong in the second half, tallying their fourth goal of the match, when Salvador Djeukeng (Yaounde, Cameroon) scored just over two minutes into the half. McDonald added his second goal of the contest scoring at the 66 minute mark.
Peter Reush earned his first goal of the season less than 20 seconds later and added another at the 76 minute mark.
With eight minutes left in the game, Jeremy Ashe (Cinnaminson, NJ) scored his second goal of the year. Senior Granit Caushaj (Detroit, MI) rounded out the scoring for Marshall when he scored at the 83 minute mark.
Jarod Dombrowski (Pickerington, OH) tallied assists on the second Reush goal and the Caushaj goal.
The win improves Marshall?s record to 5-10-0, 1-3-0 MAC. The Battlers record goes to 5-9-1. It marked the first time that Marshall has beaten Alderson-Broaddus. The Herd lost the first two matches played in 1979 and 1987.
The nine goals scored by Marshall ties the Sam Hood Field record for most goals scored. The last time nine goals were scored at the field was when Marshall defeated Transylvania, 9-0 in 2000. Nine Herd players earned points in the game in what was the strongest offensive performance for the team this year.
Marshall goalies Chris McKinney (Princeton, WV), Joe Nebel (Brentwood, TN) and Gregory Terhune (Indianapolis, IN) all contributed to the shutout. The defense in front of them also played strong to preserve the shutout.
The Herd tallied 31 shots, to four by the Battlers. Karim Boukhemis (Huntington, WV) led the team with five shots. Jeremy Ashe, Firas Al-Samarraie and Michael McDonald all had four shots.
The team played well against AB, however Gray knows that the teams needs to concentrate on what is ahead.
?We?ve got a big weekend ahead of us and we are still in the heat of things,? Gray said, ?hopefully the team can keep up the intensity level of tonight this weekend.?
Marshall will take on MAC rival Bowling Green Friday night at Sam Hood Field at 5 p.m.
Bowling Green is only one game ahead of Marshall in the MAC standings.
Kentucky comes to town on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for the final conference game of the season. The Wildcats are currently second in the MAC. A strong weekend by the Herd could put them in fourth place in the MAC. Admission to all home games is free.
