Marshall University Athletics
Sunday, November 16
Huntington, W.Va.
1 PM
Marshall University
11-3-5, 6-2-1
1
vs
3
#5 Seed UCF
10-6-3, 4-3-2
1
2
F
UCF
1
2
3
Marshall
0
1
1
Photo by: Jay Slack
No. 12 Marshall Falls in 2025 SBC Championship to UCF
11/16/2025 5:39:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Romberg scores fifth goal in last seven games
Box Score (PDF) | Championship FundÂ
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The No. 12-ranked and third-seeded Marshall Men's Soccer team (11-3-5) fell 3-1 to fifth-seeded UCF in the Sun Belt Conference Championship match Sunday afternoon at Hoops Family Field.
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"Hats off to Scott (Calabrese). Good coach and a good team," Herd Men's Soccer Head Coach Chris Grassie said. "UCF had a rough start (to the season) and he's coached them through it. Obviously we beat them here 2-0. It was a comfortable game. They took that lesson and played well. They had a great performance against Kentucky and a really good performance against us. So hats off them for winning the championship."
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UCF scored early with a goal from Frederic Benedix in the 17th minute. The Knights doubled their advantage five minutes into the second half through Lilian Ricol, who struck again in the 64th minute to make it a 3-0 deficit for Marshall.
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Carl Romberg led the Herd's response with his fifth goal in the team's last seven matches in the 73rd minute. Marshall poured on the pressure in the closing stages as Romberg and Nikita Pakhomov both forced late saves, but UCF's goalkeeper Juanvi Munoz made saves on the attempts to hold off MU's response late.
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Marshall finished with a 15-9 advantage in shots and put eight on goal.
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NEXT UP
The Herd awaits its next opponent during the 2025 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Selection Show at 1 p.m. on Monday.
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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.
Â
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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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The No. 12-ranked and third-seeded Marshall Men's Soccer team (11-3-5) fell 3-1 to fifth-seeded UCF in the Sun Belt Conference Championship match Sunday afternoon at Hoops Family Field.
Â
"Hats off to Scott (Calabrese). Good coach and a good team," Herd Men's Soccer Head Coach Chris Grassie said. "UCF had a rough start (to the season) and he's coached them through it. Obviously we beat them here 2-0. It was a comfortable game. They took that lesson and played well. They had a great performance against Kentucky and a really good performance against us. So hats off them for winning the championship."
Â
UCF scored early with a goal from Frederic Benedix in the 17th minute. The Knights doubled their advantage five minutes into the second half through Lilian Ricol, who struck again in the 64th minute to make it a 3-0 deficit for Marshall.
Â
Carl Romberg led the Herd's response with his fifth goal in the team's last seven matches in the 73rd minute. Marshall poured on the pressure in the closing stages as Romberg and Nikita Pakhomov both forced late saves, but UCF's goalkeeper Juanvi Munoz made saves on the attempts to hold off MU's response late.
Â
Marshall finished with a 15-9 advantage in shots and put eight on goal.
Â
NEXT UP
The Herd awaits its next opponent during the 2025 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Selection Show at 1 p.m. on Monday.
Â
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.
Â
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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---HerdZone.com---
Team Stats
UCF
MAR
Goals
3
1
Shots
9
15
Shots on Goal
4
8
Saves
7
1
Corners
4
6
Fouls
6
10
Scoring Plays
Frederic Benedix (1)
Assisted By: Claudel N'goubou
GOAL by UCF Benedix, Frederic Assist by N'goubou, Claudel.
16:04
Lilian Ricol (12)
Assisted By: Claudel N'goubou , Clarence Awoudor
GOAL by UCF Ricol, Lilian Assist by N'goubou, Claudel and Awoudor, Clarence.
50:27
Lilian Ricol (12)
Assisted By: Malick Thiaw
GOAL by UCF Ricol, Lilian Assist by Thiaw, Malick.
64:02
Carl Romberg (5)
GOAL by MAR Romberg, Carl.
72:36
Game Leaders
Shots
6
SOG
5
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
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