Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
16-2-3
West Virginia University
10-9-2
MCGILL: Men's soccer makes history again, beats WVU to advance
11/24/2019 6:56:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Word on the Herd
Milo Yosef scores go-ahead goal to send Marshall to the Sweet 16
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The journey for the Marshall men's soccer program has been one to savor. The next destination is sweet.
A rowdy record crowd of 2,126 rocked the aluminum bleachers at Hoops Family Field and witnessed history on a cool and windy Sunday afternoon.
In the first postseason meeting between the Mountain State's only Division I men's soccer programs – and in front of an ESPN audience – Marshall defeated visiting West Virginia, 2-1, to advance to the Sweet 16 in the Thundering Herd's first NCAA Tournament appearance.
"I feel like everyone was waiting for this game," Marshall senior goalkeeper Paulo Pita said. "The whole state."
The participants delivered on the biggest possible stage, and the end result is the latest on a lengthy list of accomplishments for the Herd men's soccer program this season. Marshall, which finished the season ranked No. 11 and is seeded the same in this 48-team event, has set a school record for wins (16), captured the regular season and postseason Conference USA championships, reached its highest national ranking in the program's existence, earned its first berth into the NCAA field, and then hosted – and beat – the Mountaineers in Huntington.
The college soccer world has been put on notice: Marshall has arrived.
"When I came to Marshall … I made it clear that I was going to transfer to a top Division I soccer program because I wanted to make the next level," Pita said. "When I committed to Marshall a lot of people were like, why are you going to Marshall? Now, the answer is here: because this is a top Division I soccer program."
Marshall (16-2-3) struck first on a goal by junior Jamil Roberts, who took a ball from sophomore Collin Mocyunas and knocked it past the keeper from the left side to break the scoreless tie 9:37 into the match.
West Virginia, the Mid-American Conference tournament champions, found the equalizer 38:32 into the first half when Logan Lucas beat Pita on a header. That left little time before intermission for the Herd to find another goal.
Marshall's answer came with under three minutes left of the half when senior Jonas Westmeyer sent in a cross and freshman Milo Yosef headed the ball into the goal to give the Herd a 2-1 lead.
"To be fair, I think the ball would have went in without me," said Yosef, who was the C-USA Offensive MVP and Freshman of the Year. "Got a deflection of my hair and it went in."
The teams played to a scoreless second half, but Marshall dominated possession. The Herd out-shot the Mountaineers 11-8, and Marshall led in corner kicks, 11-4.
Marshall is one of the final 16 teams in the race to win the national championship. Last season, Maryland – also an 11 seed – captured the title. The Herd is hoping to reproduce that same magic, and the next stop will be the winner of Boston College and sixth-seeded Washington. Those teams meet Sunday night. In the next two rounds, the highest remaining seed will host, so Marshall could have additional games at Hoops Family Field before the College Cup – the men's soccer version of the Final Four – in Cary, North Carolina.
On Sunday afternoon, however, the Marshall coaching staff could take a few minutes to cherish a win against West Virginia. This matchup was the first meeting between the schools in 15 years.
"You've seen the atmosphere; it's really nice to have that rivalry just for the sake of soccer," said Petsa Ivanovic, an assistant for Marshall head coach Chris Grassie. "You see the joy it brings to the people and how it unites the community. Chris and I have talked about it … we're really making a lot of people happy and we're really happy ourselves. From that side it's really nice. We wish we could play them every year. I think it would be really nice. I think it would create a really nice atmosphere and push soccer and development in this state into the foreground."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a seven-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
Team Stats
ROBERTS, Jamil (7)
Assisted By: SCHNEIDER, Max , FERNANDES, Vinicius
Knocked past keeper from the left side
9:37
LUCAS, Logan (1)
Assisted By: ANDRES-LLOP, Albert
Header off cross from far corner
38:32
YOSEF, Milo (12)
Assisted By: WESTMEYER, Jonas
Header off a cross from the far side
42:30
