Marshall University Athletics
SMU, Tulsa Visit Marshall Men's Soccer This Weekend
10/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 5, 2005
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall men's soccer team returns home this weekend for its first-ever meetings with Conference USA rivals SMU and Tulsa. The Herd and Mustangs square off at 8 p.m. Friday, while the Golden Hurricane rolls into Huntington for a 2:30 p.m. Sunday match. Both matches will be held at Sam Hood Field.
Marshall (2-6-1, 0-1-1) looks to straighten things out this weekend after a tough stretch in Florida last week. The Herd earned a 4-4 tie at UCF Friday but struggled in the south Florida heat at Florida International Sunday in a 7-0 defeat, the Herd's worst loss since an 8-1 setback in 1994 at Winthrop.
Kirk Gibson (Allen, Texas/Allen), Stanton Smith (Cape Town, South Africa/University of Charleston), Karim Boukhemis (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington) and Dana Heimbecker (Niagara Falls, Ontario/Westlane Secondary) each recorded goals in the contest at UCF Friday.
Smith continues to rank among Conference USA's top 10 in scoring, standing in a tie for sixth in goals (4), seventh in points (11) and 10th in assists (3). Gibson is tied with Smith and five others for sixth in the league in scoring with four, while Jeremy Ashe (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) also ranks in the top 10 in assists with three.
SMU (4-4-2, 2-0-0) has the early lead in Conference USA after picking up 2-1 wins over UAB and Memphis last week. Duke Hashimoto earned Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring the first goal in the UAB win and then notching the game-winning goal with 13 seconds remaining in regulation against Memphis. Hashimoto leads SMU in scoring with four goals and two game-winners.
Tulsa (3-2-5, 0-0-2) played to a 1-1 tie with Memphis last Friday before earning a 2-2 draw with UAB Sunday. The Golden Hurricane already has played seven overtime matches with a school-record five finishing in ties. Tulsa was ranked as high as No. 17 in the national polls last week and is paced by Kyle Brown, who stands second in the league in goals (6) and points (14).
At halftime of both matches, the Firestone Kick to Win competition will take place. The winners from each home match will return in the final home match of the season to battle for the championship. The overall champion wins a set of new tires, valued at up to $400.
The Herd hits the road next weekend for league matchups at East Carolina and South Carolina.
