Marshall University Athletics
Men's Soccer Ends Home Schedule with UAB, Memphis
10/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 20, 2005
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall men's soccer team wraps up the home portion of its schedule this weekend, playing host to UAB at 5:30 p.m. Friday and Memphis at noon Sunday. Prior to the Memphis contest, Senior Day activities will be held as Marshall honors its four departing seniors, Jeremy Ashe (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson), Jared Dombrowski (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington), Kirk Gibson (Allen, Texas/Allen) and Stanton Smith (Cape Town, South Africa/University of Charleston).
The weekend contests will feature the top three scoring teams in Conference USA. Memphis is the top-scoring team in the conference by nearly a goal per game over UAB, while Marshall is right behind in third.
Marshall (5-7-1, 3-2-1 Conference USA) returns home after its most successful road trip of the season. The Herd opened the road swing last Friday with a 3-2 double-overtime win at East Carolina, as Smith tied the game late in regulation, then won it with a goal in the second overtime.
Sunday at South Carolina, Marshall scored at the 53-second mark on an Osric Flores (Everett, Wash./Cascade) goal and made it stick, as Greg Terhune (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) posted his second career shutout to top the Gamecocks, 1-0. For his efforts in the two wins, Terhune was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week, the Herd's first C-USA weekly honor of the season.
Smith is in Conference USA's top 10 in several categories, including third in points (15), fourth in shots (35) and fifth in goals (6). Gibson ranks eighth in goals (5), while Karim Boukhemis (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington) is sixth in shots (34).
In conference games only, Smith ranks first in shots (22), third in goals (3) and eighth in points (6), while Gibson is tied with Smith with six points and also is tied for seventh with teammate Michael MacDonald (Luton, England/Cardinal Newman) with two assists in league matches. Terhune is fifth in saves (25).
UAB (7-5-1, 2-2-1) enters the week after defeating Memphis, 2-1, last Friday in Birmingham. Reigning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week Jason McLaughlin leads the Blazers with 13 points on four goals and five assists, while goalkeeper A.J. Robles is second in Conference USA in saves (65) and fourth in goals against average (1.41).
UAB and Marshall have met just one time in men's soccer. The then-No. 12 Blazers took a 2-1 decision in 2003 at the Birmingham Southern Tournament. Boukhemis, then a freshman, scored the first goal of his college career in the defeat.
Memphis (5-5-2, 1-2-2) comes to Huntington for its first-ever meeting with Marshall with a high-octane offense. The Tigers boast four of the league's top five point scorers, led by Andy Metcalf, who has a conference-high 10 goals and 23 points. Marcus McCarthy, Jared Britcher and Dayton O'Brien are all tied for third in the league with 15 points.
Both of the weekend matches will be broadcast live by Marshall student radio WMUL 88.1 and online at www.marshall.edu/wmul.
At halftime of the both matches, the Firestone Kick to Win competition will take place. Sunday, the winners from each home match will return to battle for the championship. The overall champion wins a set of new tires, valued at up to $400.
Marshall concludes the Conference USA schedule next Friday at Kentucky.
