Marshall University Athletics
Wednesday, September 29
Huntington, W.Va.
5:00 PM
Marshall University
5-1-3, 0-0-2
2
vs
0
Butler University
3-5-1, 1-1-0
1
2
F
Butler
0
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0
Marshall
1
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Photo by: Adam Gue
Dolabella Nets Two Goals as Grassie Earns 50th Marshall Win
9/29/2021 8:28:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Grassie becomes fastest to 50 wins in program history
Game Book (PDF)
Postgame Video: Head Coach Chris Grassie | Pedro Dolabella
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The 5th-ranked Marshall men's soccer team blanked the Butler Bulldogs, 2-0, Wednesday night at Hoops Family Field. Fifth-year senior Pedro Dolabella scored a career-high two goals and head coach Chris Grassie earned his 50th win at Marshall.
Grassie is the fastest in program history to reach 50 wins, coming in his 88th match. Jack Defazio, who coached from 1982-88 achieved his 50th win in his 89th contest in 1986. Grassie now has 149 wins overall in his collegiate coaching career.
The Thundering Herd improved to 5-1-3 overall. Butler fell to 3-5-1.
"Neither team was quite dynamic today," coach Grassie said. "It was lacking a little bit of precision at times. Obviously, I think we are the better team and at times we were able to move the ball around. But even then it wasn't as precise as we would like it to be.
"We were able to get our possession game going and all the great moments we had with the series of passes before we went in. The bad moments we had, we were just trying to bomb it forward and trying to get in. Overall, a good performance. It's nice to see the goals coming. We learned from the match against Kentucky and how to break down an organized defense and did a better job tonight."
The last time Marshall played Butler in 2019, Jamil Roberts scored two goals in the Herd's 2-1 win. This time Dolabella came through with two for the victory. The Brasilia, Brazil, native is now tied with senior Vinicius Fernandes for the team lead in goals with five. Dolabella has 18 in his career and is tied for seventh all-time in program history. He also pushed his career points total up to 50, tied for eighth all-time at Marshall.
Senior goalkeeper Oliver Semmle, the reigning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week, recorded his third shutout of the season and 14th of his career. Semmle moves into third place all-time in Marshall history in career clean sheets. Taly Goode (1996-00) is second all-time with 15 and Daniel Withrow (2009-12) is the all-time leader with 21.5.
The Herd dominated possession in the first half, 68-percent to 32-percent, as the Herd attempted to break through the thick Butler defense. At times the Bulldogs had five to six blue jerseys sitting back to try and stop the Herd attack. Marshall outshot Butler 5-4, however the shots on goal in the first half were even at 3-3.
The Herd's first shot on goal came in the 21st minute when junior Joao Souza had a chance but was denied by Butler keeper Gabriel Gjergji. In the 23rd minute, Marshall got a chance with a breakaway. Fernandes sent a pass from the near top corner of the 18-yard box across to Souza who made a quick tap to Dolabella for the finish. It was Dolabella's fourth goal of the year and the Herd led 1-0. Dolabella had a chance at a second, first half goal in the 45th minute, but Gjergji came through with the save.
In the second half, Marshall had five total shots with three more on goal. Redshirt junior Milo Yosef fired a low shot in the 55th minute that was denied. The final shot on goal for Butler came in the 71st minute as Semmle made his fourth save of the night.
The Herd's second goal came in the 77th minute. Yosef made a few great moves to get around defenders and enter the 18-yard box on the near side. Yosef's pass was given a quick deflection by Fernandes to Dolabella for the header and the finish. Yosef picked up his third assist of the year. Fernandes tied his career-high with two assists and now leads the team with six for the season.
Butler began to push forward in the attempt to make a comeback. The Bulldogs had three shot attempts after Marshall's second goal, all were off target.
The Herd now goes on the road for its next two matches. Marshall travels to Old Dominion on Sunday, Oct. 3 with a 2 p.m. kickoff from Norfolk, Va. The Herd will then head down to Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Oct. 9.
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!
Postgame Video: Head Coach Chris Grassie | Pedro Dolabella
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The 5th-ranked Marshall men's soccer team blanked the Butler Bulldogs, 2-0, Wednesday night at Hoops Family Field. Fifth-year senior Pedro Dolabella scored a career-high two goals and head coach Chris Grassie earned his 50th win at Marshall.
Grassie is the fastest in program history to reach 50 wins, coming in his 88th match. Jack Defazio, who coached from 1982-88 achieved his 50th win in his 89th contest in 1986. Grassie now has 149 wins overall in his collegiate coaching career.
The Thundering Herd improved to 5-1-3 overall. Butler fell to 3-5-1.
"Neither team was quite dynamic today," coach Grassie said. "It was lacking a little bit of precision at times. Obviously, I think we are the better team and at times we were able to move the ball around. But even then it wasn't as precise as we would like it to be.
"We were able to get our possession game going and all the great moments we had with the series of passes before we went in. The bad moments we had, we were just trying to bomb it forward and trying to get in. Overall, a good performance. It's nice to see the goals coming. We learned from the match against Kentucky and how to break down an organized defense and did a better job tonight."
The last time Marshall played Butler in 2019, Jamil Roberts scored two goals in the Herd's 2-1 win. This time Dolabella came through with two for the victory. The Brasilia, Brazil, native is now tied with senior Vinicius Fernandes for the team lead in goals with five. Dolabella has 18 in his career and is tied for seventh all-time in program history. He also pushed his career points total up to 50, tied for eighth all-time at Marshall.
Senior goalkeeper Oliver Semmle, the reigning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week, recorded his third shutout of the season and 14th of his career. Semmle moves into third place all-time in Marshall history in career clean sheets. Taly Goode (1996-00) is second all-time with 15 and Daniel Withrow (2009-12) is the all-time leader with 21.5.
The Herd dominated possession in the first half, 68-percent to 32-percent, as the Herd attempted to break through the thick Butler defense. At times the Bulldogs had five to six blue jerseys sitting back to try and stop the Herd attack. Marshall outshot Butler 5-4, however the shots on goal in the first half were even at 3-3.
The Herd's first shot on goal came in the 21st minute when junior Joao Souza had a chance but was denied by Butler keeper Gabriel Gjergji. In the 23rd minute, Marshall got a chance with a breakaway. Fernandes sent a pass from the near top corner of the 18-yard box across to Souza who made a quick tap to Dolabella for the finish. It was Dolabella's fourth goal of the year and the Herd led 1-0. Dolabella had a chance at a second, first half goal in the 45th minute, but Gjergji came through with the save.
In the second half, Marshall had five total shots with three more on goal. Redshirt junior Milo Yosef fired a low shot in the 55th minute that was denied. The final shot on goal for Butler came in the 71st minute as Semmle made his fourth save of the night.
The Herd's second goal came in the 77th minute. Yosef made a few great moves to get around defenders and enter the 18-yard box on the near side. Yosef's pass was given a quick deflection by Fernandes to Dolabella for the header and the finish. Yosef picked up his third assist of the year. Fernandes tied his career-high with two assists and now leads the team with six for the season.
Butler began to push forward in the attempt to make a comeback. The Bulldogs had three shot attempts after Marshall's second goal, all were off target.
The Herd now goes on the road for its next two matches. Marshall travels to Old Dominion on Sunday, Oct. 3 with a 2 p.m. kickoff from Norfolk, Va. The Herd will then head down to Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Oct. 9.
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
BUT
MAR
Goals
0
2
Shots
9
11
Shots on Goal
4
6
Saves
4
4
Corners
0
3
Fouls
8
10
Scoring Plays
Pedro Dolabella (5)
Assisted By: Vinicius Fernandes , Joao Souza
GOAL by MAR Dolabella, Pedro Assist by Fernandes, Vinicius and Souza, Joao.
22:33
Pedro Dolabella (5)
Assisted By: Milo Yosef , Vinicius Fernandes
GOAL by MAR Dolabella, Pedro Assist by Yosef, Milo and Fernandes, Vinicius.
76:40
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
3
SOG
3
Goals
2
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
2
fwd
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
1
mid
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
Gk
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's SoccerF
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