Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Men's Soccer Travels to Bluegrass State
10/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 23, 2007
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Marshall University men's soccer team will square off against Conference USA opponent Kentucky for the 24th time, Wednesday, Oct. 24 at the UK Soccer Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Herd enters Wednesday's game after a dramatic 1-0 victory over the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Saturday evening at Sam Hood Field. Marshall and the Blazers played 89 minutes of scoreless soccer action and it appeared the match was destined for overtime, until junior Dana Heimbecker found a seam in the UAB defense. After a pass from senior Avneet Shergill, Heimbecker outmaneuvered the Blazer's goalkeeper and netted his third shot of the game to seal the Herd victory.
Marshall snapped a two-game conference losing streak with the win and look to win its second consecutive conference game, something the Herd has not done since the 2005 season.
With the win, Marshall improved to 8-5-1 overall and 2-2-0 in conference action, while Kentucky returns to action with a 4-7-2 overall record and 2-2-0 C-USA record.
The offensive leader for the Herd is junior forward Kolby LaCrone. LaCrone leads Marshall with six goals and an assist. Jermaine Johnson and John Daniele follow with three goals apiece and the Herd has nine other players with at least one goal this season.
Sophomore JD Hill has continued to be the Herd set-up-man with five assists this season. Osric Flores trails Hill with four assists.
Marshall has scored 25 goals this season clipping last season's mark of 18. The Herd has received most of its firing power in the first half with 16 goals coming in the first 45 minutes of action.
Defensively, Marshall has leaned on senior Jeff Lenix for its early success in the backfield. The two-time Conference USA Second Team selectee has been the stable for the Herd defense the past four years. This year, the Herd has earned five shutouts and have only given up 18 goals. Marshall has also received consistent play from everyday starters Brandon Lacko and Nick Daniele.
Junior defender Matt Dickerson suffered a knee injury that has sidelined him the past three Herd matches, but freshman Kendall Sutton has stepped up and played well gaining valuable experience in conference matches.
Junior transfer Craig Ratanamorn has seen significant playing time between the pipes for the Herd. Ratanamorn has seen action in the last nine games due to an injury to starter Brad Kennedy. Ratanamorn effort's against UAB resulted in a conference leading .90 goals against average and recorded his third shutout of the season.
Kentucky enters the game in similar form as the Herd. The Wildcats snapped a two-game conference losing streak with a 3-2 overtime victory over Central Florida. Previously, Kentucky fell to Memphis, 3-1 and No. 14 Tulsa, 3-0. The Wildcats began conference play with a win over UAB, 1-0.
The Wildcats are led on both sides of the ball by the same player. Defender Barry Rice has propelled the Kentucky defense all season long, but also leads the team in goals with five, all of them headers. Aaron Swanson has been the forward providing offensive support and he has netted four goals.
Dan Williams has played every game in goal for Kentucky and has accumulated 51 saves. He's recorded two shutouts and has a 1.67 goals against average.
The last two meetings between the schools have finished in ties. Last year, No. 17 Kentucky traveled to Huntington, W.Va., and found themselves down 1-0 after a shot from LaCrone hit the cross bar and bounced to Lacko who finished the job. Kentucky answered at the 76th minute with a penalty kick to tie the match.
The series dates back to 1981 with Marshall defeating the Wildcats, 3-1 in the opener. The Herd captured the first eight victories and leads the all-time series, 11-9-3.
Marshall Head Coach Bob Gray won his 379th career game after the victory over UAB. He's the all-time winningest coach in Marshall soccer history and ranks sixth in the nation among active coaches.
The road game can be heard live for the first time in Marshall soccer history at WMUL 88.1 FM. The match can also be heard online at www.marshall.edu/wmul.
