Marshall University Athletics
Men's Soccer Readies for Tulsa Test
9/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 28, 2012
TULSA, Okla.- The Thundering Herd men's soccer team will square-off against Conference USA foe Tulsa in an 8 p.m. ET showdown at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium on Saturday.
Both teams will enter the match boasting 1-0 C-USA records, with the Herd still undefeated through regular season play at 7-0-1. Tulsa is 6-3, but has sent shockwaves through the NCAA this fall with victories over No. 3 New Mexico, and No. 11 Creighton. The Golden Hurricane also blanked C-USA preseason favorite South Carolina 4-0 to earn an early-season league win and show signs of revival for a program that finished 5-12 last season.
Coming-off a 1-0 overtime win over Memphis, the Marshall men have already broke numerous defensive records this year, and senior goalkeeper Daniel Withrow can add one more to his list with a shutout on Saturday night. A clean sheet for the keeper would see him break the single-season record set by former Marshall goalie Taly Goode at 7.5 shutouts. With a win or draw, the team itself will tie a Marshall record by going nine consecutive games unbeaten, a feat last accomplished by the 1997 squad.
Last year, the Herd and Hurricane played a thrilling match in which Marshall won 2-1 in double-overtime courtesy of a Devin Perkins' brace. Having won its past two games this season with golden goals, the Herd will be hoping to avoid a repeat and clinch a rare victory in regulation. As evidenced by its big wins this fall, Tulsa has plenty of firepower to end Marshall's unbeaten run, though, and will rely heavily on the play of freshman forward Christian Mata, who leads the team and conference with eight goals.
Tom Jackson still leads the Herd with five goals, while senior Eddy Prugh and Freshman Jack Hopkins are tied for second on the team with three apiece. Tulsa leads the all-time series between the two schools with a 6-2-1 advantage over Marshall. Live stats and video will be available at the links below.
| Live Video (Premium Subscribers Only)
