13-Seed Marshall Prepares for College Cup National Championship Against Vermont

CHAMPIONSHIP FUND

CARY, N.C. – The 13th-seeded Marshall University Men's Soccer team (15-1-7) readies to take on the Vermont Catamounts (15-2-6) in its second College Cup National Championship in program history Monday night in Cary, North Carolina. First kick is scheduled for 8 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: ESPN2
Live Stats: NCAA
X (Formerly Twitter): @HerdMSoccer

HAVE YOU HERD
- The Herd reached the National Championship match with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Ohio State Friday night in Cary, North Carolina.

- Tarik Pannholzer tallied his second goal of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on a long outlet pass from goalkeeper Aleksa Janjic in the seventh minute. Janjic registered his second assist of the season.

- With the victory, Head Coach Chris Grassie earned his 100th victory at the helm of The Herd.

- Between the sticks, Janjic picked up win number 12 on the season and his eighth shutout. The Serbian goalkeeper made five saves in the match, including a key sliding stop in the second half.

- Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos and Taimu Okiyoshi continue to add to their honors with Rodrigues dos Santos being named a United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-American and Okiyoshi being named a Second-Team All-American.

- Rodrigues dos Santos has seven goal contributions during the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Brazilian forward ranks third in the country with 35 points and fourth with 15 goals this season, ranking second and in a tie for second, respectively, in each stat in a season in program history. Rodrigues dos Santos was also an All-Sun Belt Conference First-Team selection and was a United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First-Team honoree.

- Okiyoshi is the lone player on the squad to start in all 23 matches playing 2,017 minutes and being named an All-Sun Belt Conference First-Team selection and named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First-Team with four assists this season.

ABOUT THE CATAMOUNTS
- Vermont reached the Championship match by advancing 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw against No. 3 Denver in the Semifinals.

- The Catamounts have conceded just two goals during the 2024 NCAA Tournament as it defeated Iona 5-0 in the First Round, seventh-seeded Hofstra 2-1 in the Second Round, San Diego 1-0 in the Third Round and 2-0 over second-seeded Pitt in the Quarterfinals before reaching the College Cup Final Four.

- Yaniv Bazini leads Vermont with 30 points on a team-high 14 goals and two assists. Bazini has tallied a goal in all five of their 2024 NCAA Tournament matches with eight tallies in his last seven contests.

- Sydney Wathuta leads his side with 14 assists on the year as Maximilian Kissel sits behind Bazini at 10 goals.

- Between the sticks, Niklas Herceg has made 15 starts with an 11-1-3 record, including six shutouts. Herceg has been in goal for all five of the Catamounts NCAA Tournament matches.

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.

---HerdZone.com---

13-Seed Marshall Prepares for College Cup National Championship Against Vermont

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Players Mentioned

Aleksa Janjic

Taimu Okiyoshi

Tarik Pannholzer

Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos

Marshall University Athletics