Marshall University Athletics
Friday, November 12
Charlotte, N.C.
7:00 PM
Marshall University
11-3-3, 5-1-2
1
vs
3
Florida Atlantic University
9-6-3, 2-4-2
1
2
F
Fla. Atlantic
1
2
3
Marshall
0
1
1
Photo by: Conference USA
Men’s Soccer Falls to Owls in C-USA Semifinal
11/12/2021 10:35:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Fernandes scored Herd’s lone goal
Game Book (PDF)
CHARLOTTE – The No. 2 seed Marshall men's soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision to the No. 6 seed Florida Atlantic Owls, Friday night in the semifinal round of the Conference USA Tournament.
The Thundering Herd falls to 11-3-3 overall and is eliminated from the league tournament. The Owls improve to 9-6-3 and will take on No. 4 seed Kentucky in the Championship match on Sunday. The Wildcats defeated the No. 1 seed FIU Panthers 3-0 earlier on Friday.
"Well played by FAU," Herd head coach Chris Grassie said. "They had a game plan and it worked for them. I thought we played some good stuff especially in the second half. On another day we would've scored five. Still, we got caught on the counter attack from their three attacks, so we have to be smarter with our counter prevention. We just can't seem to get ourselves into third gear at the minute. I know we have one of the best teams in the country, but we need to find our energy levels again and quickly."
Marshall outshot the Owls 13-6 and 5-4 on goal. The Herd also dominated time of possession 70-percent to 30-percent.
Nearly 15 minutes went off the clock before either team had a shot. Marshall senior Jan-Erik Leinhos attempted the first and it was stopped by Neil Strauber the Owls' keeper. In the 19th minute, Florida Atlantic scored the first goal to take a 1-0 lead.
Senior Vitor Dias had a shot attempt stopped in the 33rd minute and senior Ibrahima Diop missed wide with about 30 seconds left before halftime.
The Herd went in at the break trailing 1-0.
In the second half, Marshall had several shots attempts but just could not connect. Graduate student Pedro Dolabella had three shots in the first 15 minutes of the second half but could not find the back of the net. The Owls' defense blocked the next four Herd shot attempts through the 72nd minute. Freshman Mohammed Seidu took a shot that was saved in the 74th minute.
In the 76th minute, Florida Atlantic scored again and took a 2-0 lead.
Finally, the Herd got on the scoreboard and looked to begin a comeback in the 80th minute as senior Vinicius Fernandes blasted a kick from around the far corner of the 18-yard box that beat Strauber to the near corner of the net. It was Fernandes's sixth goal of the season, a career-high. However, just 47 seconds later FAU scored its third goal to put the lead back to two, 3-1. The Owls held tight through the final 10 minutes for the win.
Florida Atlantic is in the Conference USA Tournament Championship for the first time. The Owls joined C-USA in 2013.
Marshall now awaits the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m., to see what is next. The Herd was ranked No. 4 in the country going into the C-USA Tournament and should be in line for an at-large bid and the potential to host in the NCAA Tournament as well. The NCAA Selection Show will be live streamed on NCAA.com.
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!
CHARLOTTE – The No. 2 seed Marshall men's soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision to the No. 6 seed Florida Atlantic Owls, Friday night in the semifinal round of the Conference USA Tournament.
The Thundering Herd falls to 11-3-3 overall and is eliminated from the league tournament. The Owls improve to 9-6-3 and will take on No. 4 seed Kentucky in the Championship match on Sunday. The Wildcats defeated the No. 1 seed FIU Panthers 3-0 earlier on Friday.
"Well played by FAU," Herd head coach Chris Grassie said. "They had a game plan and it worked for them. I thought we played some good stuff especially in the second half. On another day we would've scored five. Still, we got caught on the counter attack from their three attacks, so we have to be smarter with our counter prevention. We just can't seem to get ourselves into third gear at the minute. I know we have one of the best teams in the country, but we need to find our energy levels again and quickly."
Marshall outshot the Owls 13-6 and 5-4 on goal. The Herd also dominated time of possession 70-percent to 30-percent.
Nearly 15 minutes went off the clock before either team had a shot. Marshall senior Jan-Erik Leinhos attempted the first and it was stopped by Neil Strauber the Owls' keeper. In the 19th minute, Florida Atlantic scored the first goal to take a 1-0 lead.
Senior Vitor Dias had a shot attempt stopped in the 33rd minute and senior Ibrahima Diop missed wide with about 30 seconds left before halftime.
The Herd went in at the break trailing 1-0.
In the second half, Marshall had several shots attempts but just could not connect. Graduate student Pedro Dolabella had three shots in the first 15 minutes of the second half but could not find the back of the net. The Owls' defense blocked the next four Herd shot attempts through the 72nd minute. Freshman Mohammed Seidu took a shot that was saved in the 74th minute.
In the 76th minute, Florida Atlantic scored again and took a 2-0 lead.
Finally, the Herd got on the scoreboard and looked to begin a comeback in the 80th minute as senior Vinicius Fernandes blasted a kick from around the far corner of the 18-yard box that beat Strauber to the near corner of the net. It was Fernandes's sixth goal of the season, a career-high. However, just 47 seconds later FAU scored its third goal to put the lead back to two, 3-1. The Owls held tight through the final 10 minutes for the win.
Florida Atlantic is in the Conference USA Tournament Championship for the first time. The Owls joined C-USA in 2013.
Marshall now awaits the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m., to see what is next. The Herd was ranked No. 4 in the country going into the C-USA Tournament and should be in line for an at-large bid and the potential to host in the NCAA Tournament as well. The NCAA Selection Show will be live streamed on NCAA.com.
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---
Team Stats
FAU
MAR
Goals
3
1
Shots
6
13
Shots on Goal
4
5
Saves
4
1
Corners
2
10
Fouls
14
7
Scoring Plays
Tom Abrahamsson (2)
Assisted By: Jose Alastuey , Davide Romeo
GOAL by FAU Abrahamsson, Tom Assist by Alastuey, Jose and Romeo, Davide.
18:07
Ivan Mykhailenko (8)
Assisted By: Blake Dean
GOAL by FAU Mykhailenko, Ivan Assist by Dean, Blake.
75:08
Vinicius Fernandes (6)
GOAL by MAR Fernandes, Vinicius.
79:33
C?lestin Theodore, Jr. (1)
GOAL by FAU Theodore, Jr., C?lestin.
80:20
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
mid
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
fwd
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
D
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