HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Old Dominion men’s soccer led No. 8 Marshall, 1-0 for 74 minutes on Sunday, but a penalty kick in the 75th shifted momentum towards the Herd as the Monarchs fell 3-2 in the opening round of the Sun Belt Championship.
“I am so proud of the fight and character this group has shown all season. While the result hurts now, this group has come a long way. To my graduating players: Thank you for everything you have given to this program,” ODU Head Coach Tennant McVea said following the match.
ODU (7-8-2), the No. 7 seed for the tournament, got started in the 35th minute as the Monarch counterattack paid dividends. Marcelo Randolf raced up the middle of the pitch, drawing a couple Marshall defenders with him. That opened up Noah Madrigal on the right side, and the forward from Peoria, Illinois fired an 18-yard line drive that beat Marshall keeper Dan Rose near the right post.
That score held up until a bouncing ball in ODU’s 18-yard box caught Lewis Redding on the forearm. Though inadvertent, the handball stood upon review and Marshall’s Pablo Simon buried the penalty kick to even the score at 1-1.
No. 2 seeded Marshall (10-1-6) then seized control as Joao Roberto entered as a substitute and scored at the 77:06 mark. The sophomore from Brazil missed high off the crossbar, but gathered his own rebound and his second effort gave the Herd a 2-1 advantage.
The Monarchs ceded another goal, this time to Rai Pinto in the 87th minute. Marshall was assessed a yellow card for wasting time and in the 88th minute, Evan Watt headed in a cross from Michael Eberle to get ODU back to within a goal. Another Watt shot with less than a minute and a half to play was off target though as the Monarchs ran out of time.
Madrigal scored the one goal on four shots while Watt found the back of the net with one of his three shots on frame. Randolf and Eberle both picked up assists and keeper Michael Statham allowed three goals while recording four saves in a complete-game effort.
ODU took six shots to Marshall’s four in the first half, but the hosts outshot the Monarchs 10-5 in the second half. The Herd also led in corner kicks, 7-2.
“We will get home, evaluate everything from this season and be better again next year,” continued McVea. “The staff are hungrier than ever to continue to pull this program forward. I thank them for everything they have sacrificed for me this year.”