Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
12-1-0, 5-1-0
WVU
10-0-4, 3-0-3
No. 1 Herd Men’s Soccer Falls at No. 5 WVU in Mountain State Derby
10/18/2023 10:23:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Marshall’s first loss of the 2023 season
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1 Marshall University Men's Soccer team (12-1, 5-1 Sun Belt) suffered its first loss of 2023 to the No. 5 West Virginia Mountaineers (10-0-4, 3-0-3 Sun Belt), 5-2, Wednesday night in the Mountain State Derby in Morgantown.
"It's just one of those games. Everything went badly for us, slips, falls and deflected goals, you name it, it happened. That happens to the best teams. I told the guys it happens to Man City. It happens to Liverpool. It happens to Brighton," Herd men's soccer head coach Chris Grassie said. "No blame on the guys. I'm super proud of them all season. We've had 12 games where everything has gone our way, and one game that doesn't go our way doesn't mean anything. We can still win the conference. Its all in our hands. We take care of business we'll be champs. The last time we lost here we won a National Championship. So, for me, as long as this defeat hurts enough to let it be fuel for the fire, we'll be fine."
The Herd opened the scoring on Matthew Bell's eighth goal of the season on an assist from Adam Aoumaich in the sixth minute.
The Mountaineers answered with three goals, but a corner kick from Alexander Stjernegaard found the head of Morris Duggan who sent it into the back of the goal to cut the deficit to 3-2 at the 17:22 mark. It was Duggan's second goal of the season.
As the clock was winding down in the first half, Joao Roberto nearly tied the match as he chipped the WVU keeper, but the Mountaineer defense cleared the ball just before it crossed the line.
WVU tallied additional goals in the 65th and 74th minutes.
NEXT UP
No. 1 Marshall returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Kentucky at Hoops Family Field. First kick is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
To donate to the Championship Fund for Marshall men's soccer, please click HERE. All proceeds go directly to the Marshall men's soccer team.
For all the latest information about Marshall men's soccer, follow @herdmsoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS and Android.
Team Stats
Matthew Bell (8)
Assisted By: Adam Aoumaich
GOAL by MU Bell, Matthew Assist by Aoumaich, Adam.
05:15
Sergio Ors Navarro (5)
Assisted By: Luke McCormick
GOAL by WVU Ors Navarro, Sergio Assist by McCormick, Luke.
10:15
Marcus Caldeira (12)
Assisted By: Jackson Lee
GOAL by WVU Caldeira, Marcus Assist by Lee, Jackson.
11:34
Marcus Caldeira (12)
Assisted By: Otto Ollikainen
GOAL by WVU Caldeira, Marcus Assist by Ollikainen, Otto.
12:00
Morris Duggan (2)
Assisted By: Alexander Stjernegaard
GOAL by MU Duggan, Morris Assist by Stjernegaard, Alexander.
17:22
Marcus Caldeira (12)
Assisted By: Yutaro Tsukada
GOAL by WVU Caldeira, Marcus Assist by Tsukada, Yutaro.
64:53
Constantinos Christou (1)
GOAL by WVU Christou, Constantinos.
73:39
