MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Tarik Pannholzer (9) moves past West VirginiaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Carlos Hernando during a menÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s soccer match on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Huntington.
MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Tarik Pannholzer (9) moves past West VirginiaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Carlos Hernando during a menÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s soccer match on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Huntington.
HUNTINGTON ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Marshall goalkeeper Dan Rose watched from the back line as shot after shot went anywhere but the back of the net for the Thundering Herd menÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s soccer team Tuesday night in a 0-0 draw with West Virginia.
Wide left, wide right, off the crossbar or into the hands of the MountaineersÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ keeper. The Herd got its shots close but couldnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t convert and watched as WVU celebrated a Sun Belt Conference regular season championship at Hoops Family Field.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe had so many chances,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Rose said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think that all of our guys are good enough to put those away.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Marshall shot 13 times and put four of them on goal, but ended the regular season with a third consecutive draw. Herd coach Chris Grassie said he was encouraged by the performance and that there is still a title left to win as Marshall turns its attention toward the SBC tournament, which begins Sunday afternoon.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThe guys are upset, and obviously itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s an opportunity to win a title. You know, you get very few in your life,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Grassie said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIf we can play like that, it doesnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t matter who plays in front of us, we can go win a championship for sure. I saw a championship team tonight.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Marshall finished the regular season unbeaten in league play (4-0-5) and with just one loss overall (9-1-6) and finally put together a performance it could be proud of against WVU, Grassie said.
The Herd coach called the effort MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s of the year and said it bodes well for the postseason.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe know weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve dropped some points with some performances that weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re not proud of down the road,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Grassie said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œBut tonight, this is a performance we can take all the way to another championship.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
One game in particular that stands out is a 3-3 draw at Georgia State in which the Herd conceded two goals within the final 10 minutes to leave with one point in the standings instead of three.
After leading 1-0 at the break in a road match at Kentucky on Friday, Marshall gave up the equalizer in the second half to again leave with fewer points than it desired.
A win in either of those games would have created a scenario in which the Thundering Herd couldÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve used Tuesday nightÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s draw to clinch the conference regular-season title.
Instead of dwelling on the could-haves and should-have-beens, Marshall is looking forward.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve now put together a really good performance. Last week was decent with Kentucky as well,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Rose said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œSo weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve just got to keep that (going) and then take what we got (from) today, and the goals will come.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Marshall hosts Old Dominion in the Sun Belt Conference tournament quarterfinals on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Luke Creasy is a sports reporter for HD ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥. He can be reached by phone at 304-526-2800.
