Marshall University Athletics
@HerdWSoccer Continues Four Game Road Trip at Southern Miss
9/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Marshall women's soccer team continues its four game road swing for another Conference USA match at Southern Miss with the Golden Eagles. Kickoff is set for Sunday, Sept. 25, at 2 p.m.
HAVE YOU HERD?
Marshall fell to North Texas, 3-1, on Thursday evening at the Mean Green Soccer Stadium in Denton, Texas. Freshman Jordan Sackaris (Smithtown, N.Y.) tallied her team-leading fifth goal of the season and senior Sydney Arnold (Stafford, Va.) grabbed her team-leading fourth assist of the season. The Herd dropped its first two games at Purdue and Michigan, but since are 2-1-2 with wins over Longwood and East Tennessee State. Marshall also finished at a 2-2 draw with IUPUI. This will open up a series of four straight away games for the Herd.
Arnold and freshman Jordan Sackaris have combined to score eight of the Herd's 12 goals in 2016. Sackaris scored a goal in each of the first three games of the season and again in the 3-0 win over ETSU. Arnold had scored a goal in three consecutive matches. Junior Emily Moreland has played the majority of the year in goal for the Herd logging 631 minutes and 55 seconds out of a possible 850 minutes. Moreland has allowed 10 goals and has 22 saves. Freshman Megan Bonelli has started the last two matches and has made eight saves in both contests.
SOUNDS LIKE A BROKEN RECORD
Senior midfielder Sydney Arnold is on the brink of claiming a few school records. Arnold is one goal away from being No. 5 all-time for career goals scored with 17. The Stafford, Va., native is also one point away from tying Erin Simmons' (2012-15) spot for fifth all-time in career points. The senior can also be third all-time in assists if she collects two more this season. The senior is the first person in Marshall school history to earn back-to-back All-Conference USA second team selections.
KEEPING IT CONSISTENT
From Sept. 2-9 senior Sydney Arnold had three goals in three straight matches. She has continued where she left off in the 2015 season where she collected 23 points, nine goals and five assists. The Stafford, Va., native has started all but one match since beginning her career in the 2013 season. The senior has now grabbed an assist in two straight games and is now one assist away from tying Amanda McMahon (2000-01) for third place on the all-time career list.
SACKARIS SCORES GOALS
Freshman Jordan Sackaris leads the Thundering Herd with four goals scored this season. To put that in perspective, Sackaris is one of three freshmen in Conference USA to score at least five goals this season. The last Herd freshman to score at least five goals was Erin Simmons (2012-15), who finished her freshman year with six goals.
ROAD WARRIORS
This weekend, Marshall will play in games two and three of four straight games on the road. The featured schools are William & Mary (Williamsburg, Va.), North Texas (Denton, Texas), Southern Miss (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and Louisiana Tech (Ruston, La.). When the road trip is over the Herd will have traveled 3,071.8 miles to play its opponents.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
The Herd travels to Hattiesburg, Miss. to face the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, Sunday, at the Track & Field and Soccer Complex. The Golden Eagles currently own a 5-3-0 overall record and a 0-2-0 in league play. This will be the 12th meeting between the two schools as Marshall owns an 8-2-1 all-time record against Southern Miss.
The Golden Eagles boasts an evenly balanced attack that has collected 45 points (15 goals, 15 assists) from 11 different players on the season. Southern Miss led by sophomore Bri Schubeck (Pensacola, Fla.), who has collected a team-leading four goals on the season, sophomore Stephanie Garcia (Houston, Texas), who has collected a team-leading four assists this season.
BONELLI GRABS FRESHMEN MILESTONE
Freshman goalkeeper Megan Bonelli (Apollo, Pa.) reached a milestone in her first collegiate start against the William & Mary Tribe (Sept. 18). The Apollo, Pa., native collected a career and season-high eight saves. Bonelli's eight saves marked the first time a Marshall freshman did so in a match since Lindsey Kerns (2009-12) made eight saves in the 1-0 defeat at Kentucky in 2010. In Bonelli's second start of her career against North Texas, she matched her milestone by notching another eight saves. The last freshman to make at least six saves in two straight matches was Liz Orton (2006-08)
MARSHALL PICKED FOURTH
The Herd rounded out the top four of Conference USA's 14-team preseason poll, as selected by league coaches (Aug. 4). The Herd lost seven players from its 2015 C-USA finals roster, including three starters. Preseason All-C-USA selection Sydney Arnold (Stafford, Va.) entered her senior year as the Herd's top scorer from last season.
CONTRIBUTING OFFENSE
Marshall has collected a total of 32 points from 12 goals and seven assists. Six different players have grabbed at least one point this season. The list of players includes Sydney Arnold (Stafford, Va.), Jordan Sackaris (Smithtown, N.Y.), Jayne Lawman (Winfield, W. Va.), Ashley Seltzer (Knoxville, Tenn.), Shontelle Smith (Dunedin, New Zealand) and Gabby Powers (Knowxville, Tenn.).
NEW FACES
Marshall has added 11 freshmen to the squad in 2016. The Herd's rookie class includes one goalkeeper, four tweeners, three defenders and three forwards: Megan Bonelli (Apollo, Pa.), Marah Abu-Tayeh (Williamsville, Ind.), Gabby Powers (Knoxville, Tenn.), Metz Gonzalez (Fontana, Calif.), Jordan Sackaris (Smithtown, N.Y.), Farah Abu-Tayeh (Williamsville, Ind.), Karen Rogge (Naples, Fla.), Alyssa Totzke (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Rebekah Cook (Beckley, W. Va.), Ally Kimbler (London, Ohio) and Chloe Smith (West Chester, Pa.).
Additionally, Daniel Withrow joined coach Kevin Long's staff as an assistant coach. Withrow, a Rochester Hills, Mich. native, will work primarily with goalkeepers while assisting with all parts of the program. Withrow graduated from Marshall in 2013 and was selected in the second round (28th overall) in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft by the Columbus Crew.
UP NEXT
The Herd will complete its four-game road test when it travels to Ruston, La., to play Louisiana Tech. Marshall is 1-2-0 in the all-time series against the Lady Techsters. For all the latest information about Marshall women's soccer, follow @HerdWSoccer on Twitter.
