Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
1-0-0, 0-0-0
Fairfield
0-1-0, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Marshall | 0 | 2 | 2 |
N’Goran Late Goal Seals Win for No. 17 Herd MSOC in 2026 Opener over Fairfield
8/20/2026 11:26:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Sophomore defender tallies game winner with five seconds left
Box Score (PDF) | Championship Fund
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The No. 17-ranked Marshall Men's Soccer team (1-0) took its 2026 season opener with a last-second goal from Adam N'Goran in a 2-1 victory over Fairfield on Thursday at Hoops Family Field.
The win marked the Herd coming out victorious in the team's last five home openers.
It was a good performance, Herd Men's Soccer Head Coach Chris Grassie said. I felt like we would create chances. That last 17 seconds I was like somebody get the ball into the box, please. If we score those three or four shots of the post, it's a different game and we feel a little bit different about it.
With the final seconds ticking off in the contest with the score tied 1-1, Ryan Holmes sent in a ball that found the head of Nikita Pakhomov. The ball grazed off Pahkomov's head to N'Goran, who tallied the first goal of his collegiate placing his shot past Evan Chomow.
After a scoreless first half that saw MU outshoot the Stags 6-0, including 2-0 in shots on goal, the home side continued to ramp up the pressure.
The pressure culminated in Goncalo Machado burying a cross from Haruhi Taneda in the 75th minute to see Marshall take a 1-0 lead.
However, Chomow sent a clearance in the 74th minute that took an unfortunate bounce over the head of Herd goalkeeper Alan Horrocks and saw Cristiano Carlos head home an equalizer.
MU outshot Fairfield 17-2, including 6-2 in shots on goal. The Herd had four near misses with efforts from Thiago Apolinario, Gabriel Stevanato, Taneda and Pakhomov going off the woodwork.
UP NEXT
Marshall hits the road for a contest at UC Santa Barbara next Thursday.
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.
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Team Stats
Goncalo Machado (1)
Assisted By: Haruhi Taneda
GOAL by MAR Machado, Goncalo Assist by Taneda, Haruhi.
74:29
Cristiano Carlos (1)
Assisted By: Evan Chomow
GOAL by UF Carlos, Cristiano Assist by Chomow, Evan.
76:55
Adam NGoran (1)
Assisted By: Nikita Pakhomov , Ryan Holmes
GOAL by MAR NGoran, Adam Assist by Pakhomov, Nikita and Holmes, Ryan.
89:54
