Marshall University Athletics
Thursday, August 27
Santa Barbara, Calif.
10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST
Marshall University
1-0-1, 0-0-0
1
at
1
UC Santa Barbara
1-0-1, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Photo by: Joel Skaff
No. 12 Herd Registers Draw at (RV) Santa Barbara
8/28/2026 1:42:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Apolinario tallies penalty kick, Obert six saves in debut
Box Score (PDF) | Championship Fund
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 12-ranked Marshall Men's Soccer team (1-0-1) played to a 1-1 draw at 1-1 (RV) Santa Barbara on Thursday night in Santa Barbara, California.
Yurij Obert made six saves in his Thundering Herd debut.
"It was a tough match," Herd Men's Soccer Head Coach Chris Grassie said. :UCSB are a good team, and caused us problems by playing in behind our back line. But once we were able to get better pressure to their back line and get more in sync defensively, we were much better. I think we need to be fitter, but it's only our fourth match, so hopefully that will come. I was very impressed by our ability to create chances. We had so many opportunities to win the match. They will be an NCAA tournament team, so that was a great test for us. I'm positive that if we can adapt quicker, and get fitter, we will be a very dangerous team this season."
Obert went to work early saving a shot just 35 seconds into the match.
Marshall opened up the scoring with Thiago Apolinario burying a penalty kick in the 12th minute to make it 1-0. MU nearly doubled its lead on a shot by Joshua Nugent, but UCSB keeper Owen Beninga made the save.
Obert made four more saves in the first half in the 16th, 18th and 24th minutes to keep the home side off the board.
However, the Gauchos equalized in the 26th minute on a tally from Donovan Sessoms with the score being 1-1 at halftime.
Obert made his final two saves of the contest in the 47th and 61st minutes to keep the match knotted at 1-1.
The Herd ramped up its offense down the stretch as Nugent forced Beninga to make another pair of saves in the 70th and 78th minutes with Ramado Pierre-Louis having a shot saved by Beninga in the 79th minute.
UCSB outshot MU 25-9, including 7-5 in shots on goal.
UP NEXT
Marshall closes out a two-game road swing at George Mason on Tuesday.
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.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 12-ranked Marshall Men's Soccer team (1-0-1) played to a 1-1 draw at 1-1 (RV) Santa Barbara on Thursday night in Santa Barbara, California.
Yurij Obert made six saves in his Thundering Herd debut.
"It was a tough match," Herd Men's Soccer Head Coach Chris Grassie said. :UCSB are a good team, and caused us problems by playing in behind our back line. But once we were able to get better pressure to their back line and get more in sync defensively, we were much better. I think we need to be fitter, but it's only our fourth match, so hopefully that will come. I was very impressed by our ability to create chances. We had so many opportunities to win the match. They will be an NCAA tournament team, so that was a great test for us. I'm positive that if we can adapt quicker, and get fitter, we will be a very dangerous team this season."
Obert went to work early saving a shot just 35 seconds into the match.
Marshall opened up the scoring with Thiago Apolinario burying a penalty kick in the 12th minute to make it 1-0. MU nearly doubled its lead on a shot by Joshua Nugent, but UCSB keeper Owen Beninga made the save.
Obert made four more saves in the first half in the 16th, 18th and 24th minutes to keep the home side off the board.
However, the Gauchos equalized in the 26th minute on a tally from Donovan Sessoms with the score being 1-1 at halftime.
Obert made his final two saves of the contest in the 47th and 61st minutes to keep the match knotted at 1-1.
The Herd ramped up its offense down the stretch as Nugent forced Beninga to make another pair of saves in the 70th and 78th minutes with Ramado Pierre-Louis having a shot saved by Beninga in the 79th minute.
UCSB outshot MU 25-9, including 7-5 in shots on goal.
UP NEXT
Marshall closes out a two-game road swing at George Mason on Tuesday.
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---
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's SoccerTeam Stats
MAR
UCSB
Goals
1
1
Shots
9
25
Shots on Goal
5
7
Saves
4
4
Corners
3
10
Fouls
23
18
Scoring Plays
Thiago Apolinario
MAR Thiago Apolinario PENALTY KICK GOAL.
11:10
Donovan Sessoms (1)
Assisted By: Steinar Bjornsson , Peleg Brown
GOAL by UCSB Sessoms, Donovan Assist by Bjornsson, Steinar and Brown, Peleg.
25:25
Game Leaders
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
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