Marshall University Athletics
Friday, November 15
Norfolk, Va.
4:30 p.m.
Marshall University
vs
No. 4 Seed Kentucky
Photo by: Mark Webb
Top Seeded Men’s Soccer Prepares for Semi-Final Match with No. 4 Seed Kentucky
11/14/2019 2:43:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Kickoff scheduled for Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Marshall Men's Soccer Match Notes
NORFOLK, Va. – The top overall seed, and 13th-ranked, Marshall men's soccer team is set for the semi-final round matchup against No. 4 seed, and 15th-ranked, Kentucky Wildcats in the Conference USA Tournament. Kickoff from the Old Dominion soccer complex is set for Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The Thundering Herd enters the match with an overall record of 13-2-3 and finished 5-1-1 in C-USA action. The Wildcats come in at 12-3-3 and defeated No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic 2-0 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Match Details
Live Stats: SIDEARM
Live Video: ESPN+ with Jake Griffith on the call.
Series History: 42nd all-time meeting, 6th in a conference tournament – UK leads the series 21-17-3.
Last Meeting: Nov. 3, 2019 in Huntington – Marshall won 1-0 in front of a record crowd of 2,032.
2019 has been a banner season so far for Marshall. The Herd went from being picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll to the top spot going into the C-USA Tournament. It is the first time Marshall has won a regular season title since 2000 back in the Mid-American Conference. The Herd has been in the top 25 rankings since first breaking in on Oct. 15. Marshall has been ranked 21st (Oct. 15), 15th (Oct. 22), 20th (Oct. 29), 14th (Nov. 4) and its highest-ever ranking in program history of 13th (Nov. 11).
The Herd pulled in plenty of hardware as well leading into the tournament with nine people receiving honors. It started with senior Carlos Diaz-Salcedo and junior Pedro Dolabella being named to the C-USA All-Academic team. Then it followed with head coach Chris Grassie named Coach of the Year, redshirt freshman Milo Yosef named Offensive MVP and Freshman of the Year and Paulo Pita sharing the Golden Glove award for specialty awards. On the All-Conference teams senior Illal Osmanu and Yosef were named first team. Pita along with juniors Jamil Roberts and Dolabella were on the second team. Sophomore Jan-Erik Leinhos was on the third team. Freshman Max Schneider and Yosef were named All-Freshman.
Opponent
The Kentucky Wildcats were playing through a scoreless affair against the Florida Atlantic Owls for the first 88:30 of the match. Finally, Eythor Bjorgolfsson scored and then just 14 seconds later Jansen Wilson added a second goal. Keeper Enrique Facusse tallied five saves in the shutout.
The Wildcats were the top seed in 2018, won the conference tournament, and then advanced to the NCAA Elite 8 before the season finally came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Maryland.
This will be the third-straight season that Marshall and Kentucky have met in the C-USA Tournament. In the semi-final round in 2018, top-seeded UK eliminated No. 5 seed Marshall, 2-1, in Charlotte. In the quarterfinals in 2017, No. 6 seed Marshall upset No. 3 seed Kentucky, 1-0, on a wet and cold night in Norfolk.
The teams are playing for a chance to advance to the Championship Match scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. The other semi-final round match is between No. 2 Charlotte and No. 3 FIU and is set for Friday at 7 p.m. All four of Conference USA's teams that are ranked in the NCAA/United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll are playing the semi-finals. Marshall is highest ranked at 13th, Kentucky follows at 15th, Charlotte at 17th and then FIU at 23rd.
All matches will be aired on ESPN+ with Jake Griffith as play-by-play.
For all of the latest information on the Marshall men's soccer team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdMSoccer, Facebook at Marshall University Soccer and on www.herdzone.com.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
NORFOLK, Va. – The top overall seed, and 13th-ranked, Marshall men's soccer team is set for the semi-final round matchup against No. 4 seed, and 15th-ranked, Kentucky Wildcats in the Conference USA Tournament. Kickoff from the Old Dominion soccer complex is set for Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The Thundering Herd enters the match with an overall record of 13-2-3 and finished 5-1-1 in C-USA action. The Wildcats come in at 12-3-3 and defeated No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic 2-0 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Match Details
Live Stats: SIDEARM
Live Video: ESPN+ with Jake Griffith on the call.
Series History: 42nd all-time meeting, 6th in a conference tournament – UK leads the series 21-17-3.
Last Meeting: Nov. 3, 2019 in Huntington – Marshall won 1-0 in front of a record crowd of 2,032.
2019 has been a banner season so far for Marshall. The Herd went from being picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll to the top spot going into the C-USA Tournament. It is the first time Marshall has won a regular season title since 2000 back in the Mid-American Conference. The Herd has been in the top 25 rankings since first breaking in on Oct. 15. Marshall has been ranked 21st (Oct. 15), 15th (Oct. 22), 20th (Oct. 29), 14th (Nov. 4) and its highest-ever ranking in program history of 13th (Nov. 11).
The Herd pulled in plenty of hardware as well leading into the tournament with nine people receiving honors. It started with senior Carlos Diaz-Salcedo and junior Pedro Dolabella being named to the C-USA All-Academic team. Then it followed with head coach Chris Grassie named Coach of the Year, redshirt freshman Milo Yosef named Offensive MVP and Freshman of the Year and Paulo Pita sharing the Golden Glove award for specialty awards. On the All-Conference teams senior Illal Osmanu and Yosef were named first team. Pita along with juniors Jamil Roberts and Dolabella were on the second team. Sophomore Jan-Erik Leinhos was on the third team. Freshman Max Schneider and Yosef were named All-Freshman.
Opponent
The Kentucky Wildcats were playing through a scoreless affair against the Florida Atlantic Owls for the first 88:30 of the match. Finally, Eythor Bjorgolfsson scored and then just 14 seconds later Jansen Wilson added a second goal. Keeper Enrique Facusse tallied five saves in the shutout.
The Wildcats were the top seed in 2018, won the conference tournament, and then advanced to the NCAA Elite 8 before the season finally came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Maryland.
This will be the third-straight season that Marshall and Kentucky have met in the C-USA Tournament. In the semi-final round in 2018, top-seeded UK eliminated No. 5 seed Marshall, 2-1, in Charlotte. In the quarterfinals in 2017, No. 6 seed Marshall upset No. 3 seed Kentucky, 1-0, on a wet and cold night in Norfolk.
The teams are playing for a chance to advance to the Championship Match scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. The other semi-final round match is between No. 2 Charlotte and No. 3 FIU and is set for Friday at 7 p.m. All four of Conference USA's teams that are ranked in the NCAA/United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll are playing the semi-finals. Marshall is highest ranked at 13th, Kentucky follows at 15th, Charlotte at 17th and then FIU at 23rd.
All matches will be aired on ESPN+ with Jake Griffith as play-by-play.
For all of the latest information on the Marshall men's soccer team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdMSoccer, Facebook at Marshall University Soccer and on www.herdzone.com.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
---HerdZone.com---
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's SoccerF
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