Marshall University Athletics
Friday, September 17
Huntington, W.Va.
7:00 PM
Marshall University
vs
West Virginia University
Photo by: Casey Knopf
Mountain State Derby Renewed as No. 6 Men’s Soccer Welcomes No. 4 WVU
9/16/2021 3:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Match set for Friday at 7 p.m. from Hoops Family Field
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The 6th-ranked Marshall men's soccer team is back at Hoops Family Field as the Mountain State Derby comes to Huntington. The Herd welcomes 4th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers as the old rivalry adds a new chapter. Kickoff is set for Friday at 7 p.m.
The Thundering Herd enters the match at 3-1-1 overall, while the Mountaineers come in at 4-0-1. Marshall looks to break the Hoops Family Field attendance record of 2,126 set back on Nov. 24, 2019 against WVU. It was in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the then No. 11 Herd defeated the Mountaineers 2-1. The crowd was not only the largest to attend a match at Hoops Family Field, but it was also the largest crowd of any first or second round match of the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
Match Details
Ticket Information
Marshall Men's Soccer Stats Packet (PDF)
West Virginia Match Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: HERDZONE
Live Stream: ESPN+ with Jake Griffith
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL-FM and online www.marshall.edu/wmul
Series History: 23 all-time meetings – WVU leads 16-6-1
Last Meeting: March 24, 2021 – WVU won 1-0 in Morgantown
Marshall is coming off back-to-back wins on the road at East Tennessee State (4-1) and (RV) Bowling Green (1-0). In Johnson City, the Herd's offense took a little bit of time to get rolling but the squad poured in the scores in the win over the ETSU Bucs. Senior Vinicius Fernandes scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season to get it started in the 28th minute. Fifth-year senior Pedro Dolabella notched his first score of the year in the 51st minute. ETSU cut the lead to one, 2-1, in the 54th minute. However, Marshall was not done as junior Alex Adjetey scored his first career goal in the 62nd minute and then senior Ibrahima Diop knocked in his first goal with the Herd and the seventh of his collegiate career in the 71st minute.
At Bowling Green, the match was a physical battle that went down to the wire. Finally, Dolabella received a pass from redshirt junior Milo Yosef and fired it passed the keeper with just 93 seconds remaining. Dolabella's second goal of the year, and 15th of his career, proved to be the game-winner as Marshall recorded its first clean sheet of the season.
Junior Max Schneider was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after his efforts in those last two wins. Schneider helped to lead the way as the Herd played a man down for the final 11 minutes and 10 seconds at ETSU, allowing just one shot on goal in the span. Then Schneider again was at the forefront as Marshall's defense recorded the shutout against the Falcons.
Fernandes leads the team in goals (four) and points (11) and is tied with Dolabella and senior Vitor Dias for the team lead in assists with three. Fernandes has been very accurate with his chances this year offensively as all seven of his shot attempts have been on goal, with four finding the back of the net. Dias has netted three goals this season, nine points, and has been accurate as well with five total shots and four on goal. Dolabella is second in scoring with seven and is tied for the team lead in total shots with 10. Yosef also has 10 total shots and has netted one goal as well as one assist. Freshman Paulo Lino has two goals and four other players along with Yosef have scored one goal this year. Adjetey, Schneider and senior Jan-Erik Leinhos have two assists each.
Senior goalkeeper Oliver Semmle is back as he sat out the match at Bowling Green after receiving a red card late at ETSU. Semmle has logged almost 369 minutes in the net this season and has allowed eight goals while recording 14 saves. Redshirt sophomore Gabe Sitler played the end of the match against the Bucs and tallied one save. Junior Cooper Blay played all 90 minutes at Bowling Green and recorded two saves in the shutout.
The Herd has outscored its opponents 16-8 this season and has the advantage in shots, 61-50, and 32-25 on goal.
Following the match with the Mountaineers, Marshall stays home for three more tough matches. The home slate features No. 7 Akron on Sept. 21, No. 14 Kentucky on Sept. 25 and then Butler on Sept. 29.
The Opponent
The West Virginia Mountaineers are off to a great start under second-year head coach Dan Stratford. Coach Stratford, who played at WVU, was an assistant under Marshall head coach Chris Grassie at the University of Charleston. Stratford took over at Charleston when Grassie took the job with the Herd. Now Stratford has WVU ranked in the top 10 and 4-0-1 as the year gets rolling. This will be the Mountaineers final season in the Mid-American Conference for men's soccer as the club will be joining C-USA for the 2022 season. WVU opened the year with a 2-0 win over Robert Morris and then recorded victories over No. 3 Pitt (2-1) and then No. 17 Penn State (3-1). The Mountaineers played to a scoreless draw against Loyola and then defeated Ohio State 1-0 on Friday, Sept. 10.
WVU is outscoring the opposition 8-2 and own the advantage in shots, 60-35, and shots on goal, 29-12.
Eight different players have netted a goal this season with Kevin Morris being the newest addition after hitting the game-winner against the Buckeyes, coming in the third minute.
Steven Tekesky has played all 470 minutes in net with two goals allowed, nine saves, a 0.38 goals against average and an .818 save percentage. Tekesky has earned three clean sheets.
Tekesky was the keeper for the Mountaineers in the spring and tallied six saves the last time these two teams met in March. Luke McCormick, who scored the lone goal in the 1-0 WVU win, is also back and has one goal and one assist this fall.
Following the match against the Herd, West Virginia heads back home for three-straight contests. The Mountaineers home slate features Dayton on Sept. 21, St. Bonaventure on Sept. 25 and then No. 7 Akron on Sept. 30 for WVU's first conference match of the year.
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 match at 3-1-1 overall, while the Mountaineers come in at 4-0-1. Marshall looks to break the Hoops Family Field attendance record of 2,126 set back on Nov. 24, 2019 against WVU. It was in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the then No. 11 Herd defeated the Mountaineers 2-1. The crowd was not only the largest to attend a match at Hoops Family Field, but it was also the largest crowd of any first or second round match of the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
Match Details
Ticket Information
Marshall Men's Soccer Stats Packet (PDF)
West Virginia Match Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: HERDZONE
Live Stream: ESPN+ with Jake Griffith
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL-FM and online www.marshall.edu/wmul
Series History: 23 all-time meetings – WVU leads 16-6-1
Last Meeting: March 24, 2021 – WVU won 1-0 in Morgantown
Marshall is coming off back-to-back wins on the road at East Tennessee State (4-1) and (RV) Bowling Green (1-0). In Johnson City, the Herd's offense took a little bit of time to get rolling but the squad poured in the scores in the win over the ETSU Bucs. Senior Vinicius Fernandes scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season to get it started in the 28th minute. Fifth-year senior Pedro Dolabella notched his first score of the year in the 51st minute. ETSU cut the lead to one, 2-1, in the 54th minute. However, Marshall was not done as junior Alex Adjetey scored his first career goal in the 62nd minute and then senior Ibrahima Diop knocked in his first goal with the Herd and the seventh of his collegiate career in the 71st minute.
At Bowling Green, the match was a physical battle that went down to the wire. Finally, Dolabella received a pass from redshirt junior Milo Yosef and fired it passed the keeper with just 93 seconds remaining. Dolabella's second goal of the year, and 15th of his career, proved to be the game-winner as Marshall recorded its first clean sheet of the season.
Junior Max Schneider was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after his efforts in those last two wins. Schneider helped to lead the way as the Herd played a man down for the final 11 minutes and 10 seconds at ETSU, allowing just one shot on goal in the span. Then Schneider again was at the forefront as Marshall's defense recorded the shutout against the Falcons.
Fernandes leads the team in goals (four) and points (11) and is tied with Dolabella and senior Vitor Dias for the team lead in assists with three. Fernandes has been very accurate with his chances this year offensively as all seven of his shot attempts have been on goal, with four finding the back of the net. Dias has netted three goals this season, nine points, and has been accurate as well with five total shots and four on goal. Dolabella is second in scoring with seven and is tied for the team lead in total shots with 10. Yosef also has 10 total shots and has netted one goal as well as one assist. Freshman Paulo Lino has two goals and four other players along with Yosef have scored one goal this year. Adjetey, Schneider and senior Jan-Erik Leinhos have two assists each.
Senior goalkeeper Oliver Semmle is back as he sat out the match at Bowling Green after receiving a red card late at ETSU. Semmle has logged almost 369 minutes in the net this season and has allowed eight goals while recording 14 saves. Redshirt sophomore Gabe Sitler played the end of the match against the Bucs and tallied one save. Junior Cooper Blay played all 90 minutes at Bowling Green and recorded two saves in the shutout.
The Herd has outscored its opponents 16-8 this season and has the advantage in shots, 61-50, and 32-25 on goal.
Following the match with the Mountaineers, Marshall stays home for three more tough matches. The home slate features No. 7 Akron on Sept. 21, No. 14 Kentucky on Sept. 25 and then Butler on Sept. 29.
The Opponent
The West Virginia Mountaineers are off to a great start under second-year head coach Dan Stratford. Coach Stratford, who played at WVU, was an assistant under Marshall head coach Chris Grassie at the University of Charleston. Stratford took over at Charleston when Grassie took the job with the Herd. Now Stratford has WVU ranked in the top 10 and 4-0-1 as the year gets rolling. This will be the Mountaineers final season in the Mid-American Conference for men's soccer as the club will be joining C-USA for the 2022 season. WVU opened the year with a 2-0 win over Robert Morris and then recorded victories over No. 3 Pitt (2-1) and then No. 17 Penn State (3-1). The Mountaineers played to a scoreless draw against Loyola and then defeated Ohio State 1-0 on Friday, Sept. 10.
WVU is outscoring the opposition 8-2 and own the advantage in shots, 60-35, and shots on goal, 29-12.
Eight different players have netted a goal this season with Kevin Morris being the newest addition after hitting the game-winner against the Buckeyes, coming in the third minute.
Steven Tekesky has played all 470 minutes in net with two goals allowed, nine saves, a 0.38 goals against average and an .818 save percentage. Tekesky has earned three clean sheets.
Tekesky was the keeper for the Mountaineers in the spring and tallied six saves the last time these two teams met in March. Luke McCormick, who scored the lone goal in the 1-0 WVU win, is also back and has one goal and one assist this fall.
Following the match against the Herd, West Virginia heads back home for three-straight contests. The Mountaineers home slate features Dayton on Sept. 21, St. Bonaventure on Sept. 25 and then No. 7 Akron on Sept. 30 for WVU's first conference match of the year.
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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MF
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