Marshall University Athletics
Men's Soccer Wraps Up Conference USA Play at Kentucky
10/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 26, 2005
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall men's soccer team finishes its inaugural season of Conference USA play Friday at Kentucky. Match time is 7:30 p.m. at the UK Soccer Complex in Lexington, Ky. Marshall has won four of its last five matches as it heads toward the postseason.
Marshall (6-8-1, 4-3-1 Conference USA) sits in sole possession of second place in Conference USA heading into this weekend. With 13 points, the Herd holds a three-point lead over the third-place trio of South Carolina, UAB and Kentucky. South Carolina, Florida International, UCF and East Carolina all had matches postponed last week because of Hurricane Wilma, so there still is plenty of potential for shuffling of teams as those programs make up their games.
The Herd split its final two home conference matches last week, falling 1-0 Friday to UAB before pulling out a 1-0 victory Sunday on Senior Day against Memphis. Sunday, Dana Heimbecker (Niagara Falls, Ontario/Westlane Secondary) scored the winning goal with just 53 seconds remaining, while Greg Terhune (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) posted his second shutout in the last three matches.
For the second-consecutive week, Marshall boasts the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week. Jeff Lenix (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North) won the honor after he led the Marshall defense in shutting down the top two offenses in the league. Terhune earned the same distinction the previous week.
Stanton Smith (Cape Town, South Africa/University of Charleston) is tied for second in Conference USA in shots (43), fifth in points (15) and seventh in goals (7). Terhune is second in shutouts (2) and fourth in saves (60), while Karim Boukhemis (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington) is fourth in shots (40).
In conference games only, Smith and Boukhemis rank one-two in shots with 30 and 25, respectively. Terhune is tied for first in shutouts (2) and third in saves (32).
Kentucky (6-6-4, 3-4-1), an affiliate member of Conference USA for men's soccer, went 1-1 last weekend at home, falling to Memphis 2-1 in overtime Friday before notching a 4-1 win against UAB Sunday. The Wildcats boast one of the top goalkeepers in the conference in Andy Gruenebaum, who leads the league in goals against average (1.11) and shutouts (4). Riley O'Neill leads Kentucky in scoring and is 10th in the conference with 13 points on four goals and five assists.
Kentucky and Marshall are familiar foes, facing off each of the last 15 years. The programs have met 21 times overall, with the Wildcats owning an 11-9-1 advantage. The teams played last season in Lexington as members of the Mid-American Conference, with Kentucky taking a 2-1 decision. Firas Al-Samarraie scored the Herd's lone goal on a penalty kick.
Marshall concludes regular season play at 5 p.m. next Wednesday at Radford.
