Marshall men’s soccer seeking first national title in program’s first ever championship appearance
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (BVM) — This is the biggest moment in Marshall men’s soccer program history. There is no debate about that because the stakes have never been higher for the Thundering Herd than they will be this afternoon when the team takes on the Indiana Hoosiers at 8 p.m. EST in Cary, N.C. on ESPN2 in the program’s first ever NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament Championship appearance.
Tomorrow night. ⚽️🏆🔜
For the @NCAASoccer National Championship! You ready!?🔗 Full video: https://t.co/nwGNE3fD79#CollegeCup x #AllOrNothing pic.twitter.com/eC52UQAhx9
— Marshall Men's Soccer (@HerdMSoccer) May 17, 2021
The Herd will enter the game with a 12-2-3 record and off of one of the best runs in an NCAA tournament regardless of sport. The unseeded Marshall squad defeated No. 23 Fordham 2-1 in overtime in the tournament’s second round before it knocked off No. 1 Clemson in a penalty kick shootout during the round of 16. The team then took down the defending national champion No. 8 Georgetown 1-0 before pitching another shutout to beat No. 16 North Carolina 1-0 on Friday to set up the team’s first matchup against the Hoosiers in program history.
“One step to go,” Marshall head coach Chris Grassie said in his postgame press conference Friday. “My feeling this game is business as usual. I’m not overly happy or excited because the goal of this team, and this team has the quality from front to back to win a national championship, is to win a national championship. … We’ll give our best effort on Monday to win it, but we are every bit as capable of winning it as anyone in the country and we’re in the final now, first one in the final, so our job is not done.”
Though Grassie admitted he was level-headed after the win, he knows there will be a level of excitement on his squad making their first championship. For Grassie, he doesn’t want his team to hide that energy, but rather use it to their advantage.
“I think that excitement will give them a little bit of energy and I think we just got to tap into that,” Grassie said. “The guys looked fresh and I think we’ll continue to use that. We talk about having boundless energy when you’re out there and when you’re playing out there in front of the Herd fans it just adds to that energy.”
The players echoed their coach’s sentiment as they sense there is no true reason for nerves as long as they play their game.
“You only have to look around the locker room and look at the players we’ve got and the personalities we’ve got and that’s enough for me to not feel nervous,” senior Jamil Roberts, who scored the semifinal game’s decisive goal, said. “We’ve got guys who have played with and against some of the best players in the world in their home countries. … It’s all about trust. We trust each other 100%. As long as we go and execute the plan there is no reason to be nervous.”
One Shot. One Herd. One More. ☝️😤#AllOrNothing x 🟢⚪️ #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/1IaN2NFi7P
— Marshall Men's Soccer (@HerdMSoccer) May 15, 2021
The Herd will once again be playing the underdog role in the College Cup championship as they enter as only the fourth unseeded team since the 16-team seed era (2003-present) to make the final, but the first ever in Conference USA history. They will be going against a national power in Indiana who will play in their 15th College Cup Final having won eight titles, with the last coming in 2012. At 12-1-2, the Big 10 champion Hoosiers will be a formidable opponent as they have outscored opponents 31-5 and outshot the competition 160-141 and 68-57 on goal. but one the Herd team members are not afraid of.
“No disrespect to the opposition we have beaten up to this point, but we’re not looking at those jerseys and fearing them,” Roberts said. “It’s just another game. We know we have the best players and as long as we implement the game plan that has been given to us by our coaches we will have no problems.”
With history on the line, the Herd will look to do what they have done all season to bring the first College Cup home to Huntington. Though the Hoosiers stand in the way between the Herd and history, they are not afraid to embrace the underdog mantra they have had all tournament. Besides, it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but about the size of the fight in the dog.
Are you not entertained!? 😁🤘
It’s OUR time! ⚽️🏆🔜 @NCAASoccer #CollegeCup x #AllOrNothing pic.twitter.com/uTH7GbFh4d
— Marshall Men's Soccer (@HerdMSoccer) May 15, 2021
