Marshall University Athletics
Friday, November 12
Charlotte, N.C.
7:00 PM
Marshall University
vs
Florida Atlantic University
Photo by: Adam Gue
No. 2 Seed Men’s Soccer to Face No. 6 Seed Florida Atlantic in Semifinal
11/11/2021 2:44:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Kickoff from Charlotte is set for Friday at 7 p.m.
CHARLOTTE – The No. 4 overall and 2nd-seed Marshall men's soccer team will take on the 6-seed Florida Atlantic Owls on Friday at 7 p.m., in the semifinal round of the Conference USA Tournament hosted at Charlotte. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Thundering Herd enters the tournament with an overall record of 11-2-3 and went 5-1-2 in league play. The Owls own a record of 8-6-3 overall and went 2-4-2 in conference action. Florida Atlantic advanced to the semifinals after defeating No. 3 seed and host Charlotte 5-3 in penalty kicks after a scoreless draw through regulation and two overtime periods. No. 4 seed Kentucky beat No. 5 seed Coastal Carolina in the other first-round matchup on Wednesday. Kentucky moves on to face the top-seeded FIU Panthers on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The winners of Friday's semifinals will meet in the Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m.
Match Details
Championship Central page
Marshall Match Notes (PDF)
Florida Atlantic Match Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: SIDEARM
Live Stream: ESPN+
Series History: 12 all-time meetings – Marshall leads 6-5-1 – This is the first ever postseason meeting between Marshall and Florida Atlantic.
Last Meeting: Oct. 9, 2021 in Boca Raton – Marshall won 3-0 with goals scored by Vitor Dias, Milo Yosef and Pedro Dolabella
Marshall begins its two-time title defense with the semifinal matchup against FAU. 2021 is the second time under head coach Chris Grassie that the Herd has earned the first-round bye. Marshall played in the first round in both 2017 and 2018 and came through with upsets to advance to the semifinals. Both years, the Herd lost to the eventual tournament champions with Old Dominion in 2017 and then Kentucky in 2018.
In 2019, Marshall grabbed the top-overall seed winning its first C-USA Regular Season Championship and receiving the first-round bye. The Herd then defeated No. 4 seed Kentucky, 1-0, to advance to the title match. Marshall then took down No. 2 seed Charlotte in double overtime as then junior Pedro Dolabella headed in the golden goal in double overtime.
The league opted not to play a men's soccer tournament in the spring of 2021 due to the pandemic. Instead, Marshall held the top spot as Charlotte headed to Huntington in second place for the regular season finale. The Herd came out victorious 2-0 on its home turf and earned its second-straight Conference USA Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Which, then of course, the Herd went on a historic run to capture the 2020 College Cup National Championship.
Marshall enters the tournament outscoring its opponents 35-15. There have been 13 different players to score a goal this season and seven that have netted two or more. Dolabella leads the way with 10 goals and 26 total points. He was named Conference USA Player of the Year, Offensive MVP and shared the Co-Midfielder of the Year award with teammate senior Vitor Dias. Dias has five goals and five assists this season.
Senior Vinicius Fernandes leads the team with eight assists and is tied with Dias for second in goals with five. Fernandes' 18 points is good for second on the team and he was named Second-Team All-C-USA.
Senior Nathan Dossantos was named Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Herd's stingy defense through another great season that included program records of seven-straight shutouts and over 760 minutes without conceding a goal. The center back leads the team in minutes played with 1,498.
Senior goalkeeper Oliver Semmle ended the regular season with a 10-2-3 record and eight more clean sheets. He is second all-time in team history with 19 clean sheets, out of a total of 22 victories, in his Herd career. Semmle was named Second Team All-C-USA. Also earning All-Conference USA accolades were redshirt junior Milo Yosef (first team), senior Jan-Erik Leinhos (second team) and junior Max Schneider (second team).
The Opponent
The Florida Atlantic Owls advanced for the first time in the C-USA Tournament in the program's history. The Owls joined the conference back in 2013 and did not participate in the postseason until 2019, falling 2-0 in the first round to No. 4 seed Kentucky.
Charlotte outshot Florida Atlantic 12-4 and 3-2 on target in the contest. After 110 minutes, the match was still knotted at 0-0 and moved to the penalty kick shootout. Ivan Mykhailenko was the first to go for the Owls and converted. After the 49ers tied it up at 1-1, Filip Jauk drilled the second attempt, just before Joe Brito was stopped on Charlotte's second try. Florida Atlantic held a 2-1 advantage and kept on rolling as Tom Abrahamsson converted to keep FAU in the lead. Charlotte made it 3-2 and looked to possibly have a chance to tie it up on the next shot.
Florida Atlantic's Jose Alastuey's shot looked to be stopped by the 49ers except the loose ball had a back-spin and bounced back into the net after initially being deflected. Charlotte hit its third shot but needed a stop on the Owls' fifth attempt to try and keep the match going. However, Alonso Coello Camarero blasted home the last shot into the top left corner.
Florida Atlantic has been outscored 28-26 this season. The Owls have been outshot 198-179 and 102-77 on goal. However, FAU features two great offensive talents in all-conference performers Jauk and Mykhailenko who have eight and seven goals, respectively. Luis Sailer Fidalgo leads the team in assists with six.
Neil Strauber had a great night in goal against the 49ers with three saves and of course another big one during the penalty kick shootout to give his team a chance to advance. Strauber has logged nearly 1,600 minutes in the net this season and has three shutouts. He has allowed 28 goals, has a 1.59 goals against average, made 73 saves and has a .723 save percentage.
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!
The Thundering Herd enters the tournament with an overall record of 11-2-3 and went 5-1-2 in league play. The Owls own a record of 8-6-3 overall and went 2-4-2 in conference action. Florida Atlantic advanced to the semifinals after defeating No. 3 seed and host Charlotte 5-3 in penalty kicks after a scoreless draw through regulation and two overtime periods. No. 4 seed Kentucky beat No. 5 seed Coastal Carolina in the other first-round matchup on Wednesday. Kentucky moves on to face the top-seeded FIU Panthers on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The winners of Friday's semifinals will meet in the Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m.
Match Details
Championship Central page
Marshall Match Notes (PDF)
Florida Atlantic Match Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: SIDEARM
Live Stream: ESPN+
Series History: 12 all-time meetings – Marshall leads 6-5-1 – This is the first ever postseason meeting between Marshall and Florida Atlantic.
Last Meeting: Oct. 9, 2021 in Boca Raton – Marshall won 3-0 with goals scored by Vitor Dias, Milo Yosef and Pedro Dolabella
Marshall begins its two-time title defense with the semifinal matchup against FAU. 2021 is the second time under head coach Chris Grassie that the Herd has earned the first-round bye. Marshall played in the first round in both 2017 and 2018 and came through with upsets to advance to the semifinals. Both years, the Herd lost to the eventual tournament champions with Old Dominion in 2017 and then Kentucky in 2018.
In 2019, Marshall grabbed the top-overall seed winning its first C-USA Regular Season Championship and receiving the first-round bye. The Herd then defeated No. 4 seed Kentucky, 1-0, to advance to the title match. Marshall then took down No. 2 seed Charlotte in double overtime as then junior Pedro Dolabella headed in the golden goal in double overtime.
The league opted not to play a men's soccer tournament in the spring of 2021 due to the pandemic. Instead, Marshall held the top spot as Charlotte headed to Huntington in second place for the regular season finale. The Herd came out victorious 2-0 on its home turf and earned its second-straight Conference USA Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Which, then of course, the Herd went on a historic run to capture the 2020 College Cup National Championship.
Marshall enters the tournament outscoring its opponents 35-15. There have been 13 different players to score a goal this season and seven that have netted two or more. Dolabella leads the way with 10 goals and 26 total points. He was named Conference USA Player of the Year, Offensive MVP and shared the Co-Midfielder of the Year award with teammate senior Vitor Dias. Dias has five goals and five assists this season.
Senior Vinicius Fernandes leads the team with eight assists and is tied with Dias for second in goals with five. Fernandes' 18 points is good for second on the team and he was named Second-Team All-C-USA.
Senior Nathan Dossantos was named Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Herd's stingy defense through another great season that included program records of seven-straight shutouts and over 760 minutes without conceding a goal. The center back leads the team in minutes played with 1,498.
Senior goalkeeper Oliver Semmle ended the regular season with a 10-2-3 record and eight more clean sheets. He is second all-time in team history with 19 clean sheets, out of a total of 22 victories, in his Herd career. Semmle was named Second Team All-C-USA. Also earning All-Conference USA accolades were redshirt junior Milo Yosef (first team), senior Jan-Erik Leinhos (second team) and junior Max Schneider (second team).
The Opponent
The Florida Atlantic Owls advanced for the first time in the C-USA Tournament in the program's history. The Owls joined the conference back in 2013 and did not participate in the postseason until 2019, falling 2-0 in the first round to No. 4 seed Kentucky.
Charlotte outshot Florida Atlantic 12-4 and 3-2 on target in the contest. After 110 minutes, the match was still knotted at 0-0 and moved to the penalty kick shootout. Ivan Mykhailenko was the first to go for the Owls and converted. After the 49ers tied it up at 1-1, Filip Jauk drilled the second attempt, just before Joe Brito was stopped on Charlotte's second try. Florida Atlantic held a 2-1 advantage and kept on rolling as Tom Abrahamsson converted to keep FAU in the lead. Charlotte made it 3-2 and looked to possibly have a chance to tie it up on the next shot.
Florida Atlantic's Jose Alastuey's shot looked to be stopped by the 49ers except the loose ball had a back-spin and bounced back into the net after initially being deflected. Charlotte hit its third shot but needed a stop on the Owls' fifth attempt to try and keep the match going. However, Alonso Coello Camarero blasted home the last shot into the top left corner.
Florida Atlantic has been outscored 28-26 this season. The Owls have been outshot 198-179 and 102-77 on goal. However, FAU features two great offensive talents in all-conference performers Jauk and Mykhailenko who have eight and seven goals, respectively. Luis Sailer Fidalgo leads the team in assists with six.
Neil Strauber had a great night in goal against the 49ers with three saves and of course another big one during the penalty kick shootout to give his team a chance to advance. Strauber has logged nearly 1,600 minutes in the net this season and has three shutouts. He has allowed 28 goals, has a 1.59 goals against average, made 73 saves and has a .723 save percentage.
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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