Marshall University Athletics
Men's Soccer Announces 2006 Schedule
5/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
May 18, 2006
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - A league match at 2005 College Cup participant SMU and a West Coast road swing to Seattle highlight the 2006 men's soccer schedule, announced by head coach Bob Gray today.
Marshall will play two teams that competed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, including a road match at Final Four participant SMU, which advanced to the NCAA College Cup before being eliminated by eventual champion Maryland. The Thundering Herd also has a home contest with NCAA participant South Carolina, which will visit Huntington for the first time. The home slate features six regular season games and one exhibition contest - all at night.
The Thundering Herd also will make its first-ever trip to the state of Washington as it competes in the Husky Classic in Seattle. Marshall opens the tournament with a matchup with Portland. Sunday, the Thundering Herd takes on the host Washington Huskies. It not only will be the teams' first-ever contest, it also marks Marshall's first game with a Pac-10 opponent. The trip will be a homecoming for Herd sophomores Jira Cooley, Osric Flores and Sterling Flunder, as well as assistant coach Paul Meehan, as all are natives of the Seattle area.
Marshall opens the regular season Aug. 25 against Manhattan at Sam Hood Field in Huntington, and then will hit the road two days later for a contest at Louisville. The following weekend, Marshall travels to Cincinnati to compete in the Xavier Tournament, with a Friday contest against Western Illinois and a Sunday game against DePaul.
The Herd returns home for a Sept. 6 contest against Cleveland State, then travels to Western Kentucky four days later to battle the Hilltoppers.
As always, the Conference USA schedule will be challenging. Marshall opens league play Sept. 23 at UAB before beginning its home conference slate Sept. 30 against UCF. After a trip to Tulsa, the Herd has a three-game homestand in league play with Florida International, South Carolina and Kentucky coming to Huntington in an eight-day span from Oct. 11-18. Marshall wraps up the regular season with matches at Memphis and SMU.
Marshall finished 8-9-2 last season with a 4-3-2 mark and fourth-place finish in Conference USA. The Herd advanced to the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament before being eliminated by Tulsa.
ExhibitionAug. 19 Sat. West Virginia Huntington, W.Va. 7 p.m.Regular SeasonAug. 25 Fri. Manhattan Huntington, W.Va. 7:30 p.m.Aug. 27 Sun. at Louisville Louisville, Ky. 6 p.m.Sept. 1 Fri. vs. W. Illinois^ at Cincinnati, Ohio 5 p.m.Sept. 3 Sun. vs. DePaul^ at Cincinnati, Ohio NoonSept. 6 Wed. Cleveland State Huntington, W.Va. 7 p.m.Sept. 10 Sun. at W. Kentucky at Bowling Green, Ky. 2 p.m.Sept. 15 Fri. vs. Portland# Seattle, Wash. 7:30 p.m.Sept. 17 Sun. at Washington# Seattle, Wash. 4:30 p.m.Sept. 23 Sat. at UAB* Birmingham, Ala. 3 p.m.Sept. 30 Sat. UCF* Huntington, W.Va. 7 p.m.Oct. 7 Sat. at Tulsa* Tulsa, Okla. 8 p.m.Oct. 11 Wed. FIU* Huntington, W.Va. 7 p.m.Oct. 14 Sat. South Carolina* Huntington, W.Va. 7 p.m.Oct. 18 Wed. Kentucky* Huntington, W.Va. 7 p.m.Oct. 25 Wed. at Memphis* Memphis, Tenn. 8 p.m.Oct. 28 Sat. at SMU* Dallas, Texas 8 p.m.Nov. 1-5 C-USA Tournament@Nov. 10 NCAA Tournament Opening Round@
^Xavier Tournament, Cincinnati, Ohio; #Husky Classic, Seattle, Wash.; *Conference USA match; @Sites to be determined
