Marshall University Athletics
Photo by: Austin O Connor
No. 1 Herd Men’s Soccer Named Top Overall Seed in 2023 NCAA Tournament
11/13/2023 2:12:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Marshall to face winner of San Diego and California Baptist on Sunday in Huntington
NCAA Tournament Bracket | Championship Fund
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The No. 1 Marshall University Men's Soccer team (17-2) was named the number-one overall seed Monday during the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament selection show. It is the team's highest seed in program history.
"I'm super proud of the guys," Herd men's soccer head coach Chris Grassie said after his side was announced as the top seed. "Being number one is what we can control. We play a low-scoring sport where anything can happen. It's a knockout format, but over the last three months we've been the best team in the country and that's a great achievement for the guys."
The top-ranked Herd will face the winner of a first-round matchup between the San Diego Toreros and California Baptist Lancers, to be played on Thursday in San Diego, on Sunday in the second round at a time to be announced. Ticket information will be made available as soon as possible.
"It's great, we always want to play in front of our fans for as many games as possible," midfield Alexander Stjernegaard said about the team having the opportunity to host games in Huntington until the College Cup Final Four in Louisville. "Yesterday, I feel like the crowd gave us a lot of energy to help us overcome a hard game."
Marshall won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday 3-2 over the West Virginia Mountaineers to capture the conference double after taking the SBC Regular Season Championship.
The win was the 17th of the season for MU, the most in any season in program history, as Alvaro Garcia-Pascual was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament tallying three goals, including the game winners in the semifinal and final, and an assist during the run. Alex Bamford, Rai Pinto and Aymane Sordo were also named to the all-tournament team.
"It shows how much work we've put in, but we need to keep our heads grounded and constantly put in the work and take each game one step at a time," forward Matthew Bell said about the team entering the NCAA Tournament.
The Herd has also earned quite the list of accolades during the 2023 campaign. Bell earned the SBC Offensive and Player of the Year awards in addition to being named first-team all-conference. The Jamaican forward has tallied a single-season program best 12 assists in addition to nine goals for 30 points, sixth most in a season in program history.
Goalkeeper Gabriel Perrotta was a stalwart in goal for Marshall during the 2023 season being named the conference's Goalkeeper of the Year and first-team all-conference. The Paraguayan graduate student started all 19 of Marshall's games in goal, played all but 6 minutes and leads the SBC with 10.5 shutouts and 17 wins, setting a Marshall program record as an individual and a team record for regular season victories.
"It's a very proud moment for us and the program," defender Morris Duggan said. "We worked so hard. We had some bumps in the road, but we came back really strong and I'm so proud of this team and what we achieved."
Duggan captained and anchored a defense that had the most shutouts with 11 during the season to earn the league's Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference honors. The senior played 1,194 minutes on the backline, tallied a pair of goals with four shots on target during the season with one at Georgia Southern (Oct. 1) and one at then-No. 5 WVU (Oct. 18). The German defender also registered a pair of assists with one each against High Point (Sept. 8) and Coastal Carolina (Oct. 13).
Taimu Okiyoshi, a captain of the 2023 squad played the most minutes of any field player on the team at 1,568 being named second-team all-conference. The native of Kobe, Japan, tallied a goal and an assist with 10 shots, including three on target. The midfielder's goal was a screamer from outside the 18-yard box in a win at then No. 9 James Madison (Sept. 16) with his assist coming in a win against Cleveland State (Sept. 12).
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.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The No. 1 Marshall University Men's Soccer team (17-2) was named the number-one overall seed Monday during the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament selection show. It is the team's highest seed in program history.
"I'm super proud of the guys," Herd men's soccer head coach Chris Grassie said after his side was announced as the top seed. "Being number one is what we can control. We play a low-scoring sport where anything can happen. It's a knockout format, but over the last three months we've been the best team in the country and that's a great achievement for the guys."
The top-ranked Herd will face the winner of a first-round matchup between the San Diego Toreros and California Baptist Lancers, to be played on Thursday in San Diego, on Sunday in the second round at a time to be announced. Ticket information will be made available as soon as possible.
"It's great, we always want to play in front of our fans for as many games as possible," midfield Alexander Stjernegaard said about the team having the opportunity to host games in Huntington until the College Cup Final Four in Louisville. "Yesterday, I feel like the crowd gave us a lot of energy to help us overcome a hard game."
Marshall won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday 3-2 over the West Virginia Mountaineers to capture the conference double after taking the SBC Regular Season Championship.
The win was the 17th of the season for MU, the most in any season in program history, as Alvaro Garcia-Pascual was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament tallying three goals, including the game winners in the semifinal and final, and an assist during the run. Alex Bamford, Rai Pinto and Aymane Sordo were also named to the all-tournament team.
"It shows how much work we've put in, but we need to keep our heads grounded and constantly put in the work and take each game one step at a time," forward Matthew Bell said about the team entering the NCAA Tournament.
The Herd has also earned quite the list of accolades during the 2023 campaign. Bell earned the SBC Offensive and Player of the Year awards in addition to being named first-team all-conference. The Jamaican forward has tallied a single-season program best 12 assists in addition to nine goals for 30 points, sixth most in a season in program history.
Goalkeeper Gabriel Perrotta was a stalwart in goal for Marshall during the 2023 season being named the conference's Goalkeeper of the Year and first-team all-conference. The Paraguayan graduate student started all 19 of Marshall's games in goal, played all but 6 minutes and leads the SBC with 10.5 shutouts and 17 wins, setting a Marshall program record as an individual and a team record for regular season victories.
"It's a very proud moment for us and the program," defender Morris Duggan said. "We worked so hard. We had some bumps in the road, but we came back really strong and I'm so proud of this team and what we achieved."
Duggan captained and anchored a defense that had the most shutouts with 11 during the season to earn the league's Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference honors. The senior played 1,194 minutes on the backline, tallied a pair of goals with four shots on target during the season with one at Georgia Southern (Oct. 1) and one at then-No. 5 WVU (Oct. 18). The German defender also registered a pair of assists with one each against High Point (Sept. 8) and Coastal Carolina (Oct. 13).
Taimu Okiyoshi, a captain of the 2023 squad played the most minutes of any field player on the team at 1,568 being named second-team all-conference. The native of Kobe, Japan, tallied a goal and an assist with 10 shots, including three on target. The midfielder's goal was a screamer from outside the 18-yard box in a win at then No. 9 James Madison (Sept. 16) with his assist coming in a win against Cleveland State (Sept. 12).
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.
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