Marshall University Athletics
Schedule Announced for @HerdMSoccer
7/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
July 6, 2015
2015 Schedule | Printable Schedule 
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall men's soccer will play seven home games in the 2015 regular season, including the Marshall Invitational on Sept. 11 and 13. The schedule was announced Monday.
The Herd also will play three exhibition home games from Aug. 17-23 on Hoops Family Field at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex. It's the third season for Marshall's 1,006-seat facility, which will play host to the 2016 Conference USA Tournament.
Coach Bob Gray, who will be entering his 21st season at Marshall (39th overall), said the schedule of 16 regular-season dates will be challenging for the Herd and exciting for fans.
"Our fall schedule is a good balance of conference and non-conference games," Gray said. "We are happy to have three preseason games at home with 11 new players joining the squad. It's a good chance to look at them before our first road trip to Michigan.
"Our conference schedule is the bulk of our competition with many of those teams expected to be ranked in the top 25 again this fall. We are also excited to bring back the Marshall Invitational. We try to do one every other year and we will have four quality teams for fans to enjoy."
Four of the Herd's eight Conference USA games in 2015 are against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season - Charlotte, Kentucky, Old Dominion and UAB.
The Thundering Herd will tune up for the regular season with three exhibition games on Hoops Family Field at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex, starting with High Point on Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. The Herd will then face Salem University (Aug. 20 at 6 p.m.) and the University of Charleston (Aug. 23 at 5 p.m.) to finish up the preseason.
Marshall opens the regular season on the road at Western Michigan on Aug. 28, then goes to Detroit for an Aug. 30 date. The Herd also visits Duquesne and Liberty before opening the home schedule.
The Herd's first home games come in the Marshall Invitational, with Gray's club facing Robert Morris (Sept. 11) and Evansville (Sept. 13). Bowling Green is the other school in the four-team MU Invitational.
Marshall begins its C-USA season against Kentucky on Sept. 19 at 1 p.m., prior to Marshall's Hall of Fame Weekend football date at 3:30 at Edwards Stadium against Norfolk State.
The Herd's four league home dates also include South Carolina (Oct. 2), New Mexico (Oct. 23) and UAB (Oct. 31).
The seven-team Conference USA Tournament is scheduled Nov. 11-15 in Charlotte, N.C.
The Herd went 7-9-3 overall last season, including a 3-4-1 C-USA mark. The 2014 Herd had a victory over No. 15-ranked New Mexico and played a draw with No. 7 Charlotte en route to landing the seventh seed in the conference tournament.
--Herdzone.com--
