Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Men's Soccer Falls, 2-1, in MAC Opener
9/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Marshall Men's Soccer Falls, 2-1, in MAC Opener
9/24/2004
- Box Score
LEXINGTON, Ky. - A strong second half by the Thundering Herd men's soccer team was not enough to erase a two goal deficit as the Herd fell to the Kentucky Wildcats, 2-1, Friday night in Lexington.
Kentucky (5-2-1, 1-0 MAC) came out firing on all cylinders, recording ten shots in the first half to only one by Marshall (3-4, 0-1 MAC). The Wildcats persistence paid off as Anthony Peters scored at the 35 minute mark to give UK a 1-0 lead.
Just over 15 minutes into the second half, Brandon Stewart scored for UK to give them a 2-0 lead.
The Herd did not give up and tallied seven shots in the second half. With just under five minutes left in the match, Marshall made it a one goal game when Firas Al-Samarraie (Malmoe, Sweden) scored on a penalty kick. That goal ended Kentucky's conference shutout streak, which went for over 700 minutes dating back to last season.
Marshall had numerous chances, outplaying the Wildcats over the second half, but was only able to score one goal as the Wildcats took the game, 2-1.
Kentucky outshot Marshall by a 21-8 margin. Karim Boukhemis (Huntington, WV) was the only Herd player with more than one shot, he notched two.
Joe Nebel (Brentwood, TN) was back in goal for the Herd. He had a solid night, making seven saves on nine chances.
The Herd came out soft in the first half, with Kentucky dominating, but in the second half, the Herd kept up with the Wildcats and outplayed them down the stretch. Herd coach Bob Gray was disappointed with the loss, but thinks the team came away with some good things.
"It was a tough match, they dominated us for the first half and a little into the second, but our guys came back and fought down the stretch," Gray said. "We were all over them for the last 35 minutes and had our chances, if we would have played like that for the whole match, the outcome may have been different."
With the loss, Marshall drops to 0-1 in conference play, but will have the chance to rebound when they face the 0-9 Bowling Green Falcons. The Falcons also lost their match on Friday, 7-4 to Ohio State.
Gray is optimistic about the teams chances going to BGSU, but explained that the Falcons could be a different team come conference season. "They are struggling right now, but they are always tough in the conference, especially at home, they always play us tough, so it should be a good match," Gray said.
The Herd is 0-3 all-time on the road at Bowling Green, but will look to turn that around when they take on the Falcons at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
