Marshall University Athletics
Women's Soccer Opens Conference USA Action Victorious
9/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 26, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
HOUSTON, Texas - The Marshall University women's soccer squad defeated Conference USA opponent, the University of Houston Friday night, 2-1, at the John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium. The Thundering Herd improved to 3-2-4 overall, 1-0-0 in C-USA, while the Cougars fell to 5-4-0 overall, 0-1-0 in league play.
Friday night's victory marks the program's first C-USA season opening victory since joining the conference in 2005.
"The team played extremely hard tonight, which is what we wanted from them opening conference play," Marshall's interim head coach Kevin Long said. "We are pleased to have a successful start to our conference schedule."
The Herd's sophomore Erika Duncan (Easthaven, Scotland) notched her sixth goal of the season in the 22nd minute after she converted a penalty kick to put Marshall on the board first. The forward also registered two shots on goal.
Houston's Nikki Echeverria played the ball across the goal and Britteny Pfeiffer tapped it in for her first goal of the season in the 48th minute to tie the match.
Marshall rallied back with a goal from Erin Blakely (Westerville, Ohio) in the 62nd minute. Blakely headed the ball for her second goal of the season and also finished with two shots placed on goal.
The nation's 20th-ranked and the league's top assists leader Angela DeSumma (Doylestown, Pa.) assisted on the finishing goal. The forward has tallied six assists so far this season. The freshman also had two shots, with one on goal in the victory over the Cougars.
Sophomores Missy Gordon (Carmel, Ind.) and Marisa Leconte (Greer, S.C.) both notched one shot on goal.
Co-captain keeper Liz Orton (Fort Collins, Colo.) tallied three saves, while Houston's Shelby Scott had five.
The Herd outshot the Cougars 8-to-6, with Marshall taking seven on goal, while Houston took four shots on goal.
With the victory, Marshall leads the all-time series between the schools, 2-1.
"I am very happy to get a victory on the road," coach Long added. "But we have to stay focused as we face Rice Sunday and continue to play tough conference opponents."
Marshall will conclude its C-USA opening weekend in Houston, Texas against Rice University (4-4-0, overall) (0-1-0, C-USA) Sunday afternoon, at the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium with kick-off set for 2 p.m. (EST). Rice will enter the contest on a two-match losing streak after falling 2-0 to conference foe, East Carolina University, Friday evening.
GameTracker will be available for Sunday's match by clicking the Marshall women's soccer schedule.
Herd fans can view and purchase photos from the 2008 women's soccer season at http://herdsportsphotos.exposuremanager.com/ under "2008 Women's Soccer."
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