Marshall Soccer has reached a new milestone this season, with its first national championship in men’s soccer history. The school also claimed its first Division I championship in any sport. Read on to learn about the championship and Marshall’s resolution to the NCAA. It will be the first such national championship in the program’s history, and you can read the resolution here. For more information, visit marshallsports.com. The MAC championships and the Soccer Africa Project are also highlighted in this article.
Marshall Soccer MAC title
There are two good reasons why Marshall is moving from the MAC to the Sun Belt Conference. First of all, it’s not the MAC’s fault that the Thundering Herd lost the MAC soccer title. The Mountain West Conference is a strong one, with many nationally ranked programs. And second, the Thundering Herd didn’t panic when other schools moved to the SEC and Big 12. Then again, Marshall was passed over by the richest schools and forced to compete in the American Athletic Conference.
In the late 90s, Marshall dominated the MAC, playing in every MAC Championship from 1997 to 2002 and winning five of those championships. The team was coming off a 1-AA national championship in its final year of FCS competition and was looking to complete a perfect season in its first year as an FBS. The MAC title was within sight after Marshall blew a 23-point lead against Western Michigan and rallied to win 34-30.
Victor Dias led the Thundering Herd in scoring with six goals and four assists. The senior was named a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, the top individual award in college soccer. The MAC Hermann Trophy will be awarded at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on May 27. After being named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List, Dias will have to wait until the spring season to learn who will win it.
MAC championships
The Marshall men’s soccer team won the first NCAA championship in program history on Monday after blanking Swarthmore 2-0. The victory marked the first MAC championship in program history. On top of the conference title, Marshall also won two MAC tournament games, winning the MAC championship in 2010 and 2015.
The Marshall Thundering Herd men’s soccer team is a member of the Conference USA. It has won five MAC championships. The team has also won seven consecutive bowl games, including the Liberty Bowl in 2000. Previously, the Thundering Herd played in the Ohio Valley Conference and the Buckeye Conference. It spent 36 years as an independent from 1895-1925 and again from 1969-75. It is now part of the Conference USA and MACCAA.
It is unclear how the move to the Sun Belt will affect the men’s soccer rivalry with West Virginia, but it may affect the baseball team’s future. The Sun Belt is the most competitive conference in college football, and the Marshall baseball team is a national power. Additionally, games will be aired on ESPN+ subscription services. Marshall’s baseball team is getting a new stadium in 2024, and it will compete for its third national championship in men’s soccer.
The game was a tough one for the Marshall Thundering Herd. CMU beat Marshall 4-2 in Huntington, W.V., and is now second in the Mid-American Conference, three points behind Ohio. The Mountaineers are now 8-4-3 overall. Jacquie Lacek scored the first goal of the game, converting a penalty kick in the 32nd minute. Alison Heydorn added the second goal in the 35th minute.
Players selected in 2022 MLS SuperDraft
The New York Red Bulls traded up multiple rounds in the draft to take four players in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. The selections include midfielders Matthew Nocita and Juan Pablo Cartagena, who attended the Naval Academy. The team also selected a forward, Wade Aguilar, with the 34th overall pick. The two players are expected to make significant contributions for the Red Bulls this season.
Atlanta United picked former collegiate midfielder Tristan Trager from the Air Force Eagles. Trager was a five-foot-11 midfielder who scored 13 goals and added seven assists as a senior. He was named the Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-WAC in 2021 and is expected to be an impact player in the MLS. The Ghanaian played five seasons in the Philadelphia Union youth academy.
The 2022 MLS SuperDraft will feature eight highly-rated prospects from the college game. Of these, Erik Centeno, a forward from the University of Pacific, was the second-highest scorer on the team last year. Centeno led the Pacific Tigers in points, and was named Freshman Player of the Year. The 2022 MLS SuperDraft will be held on Jan. 11, 2022.
Robin Ntsabeleng was the last player to be drafted in the first round. The 6’3″ defender played three seasons at Bowling Green University before transferring to the University of Washington ahead of the 2021 NCAA season. He later starred at the University of Washington, where he made 15 starts. In addition to his college career, Ntsabeleng also played for the Stars of Africa Football Academy.
Dan Wagner’s Soccer Africa Project
F&M’s Soccer Africa Project was born in 2007 with a modest mission: a small team of American athletes would travel to Khayelitsha, South African, to help establish a soccer clinic. The idea grew when the death of Campbell, a rising senior and returning All-Centennial Conference selection, inspired Wagner to create the initiative. His team raised over $30k for the trip and brought back hundreds of soccer balls, soccer equipment, and the knowledge of how to develop the game.
The initiative’s vision has been embraced by the city of Khayelitsha. In 2008, the Franklin and Marshall teams ran soccer clinics in the township. The team later dedicated a vacant lot to the cause, which was previously a primary school’s recess area. Today, the soccer team is still going strong. The project’s mission is to help young people overcome poverty and HIV/AIDS through education, and with its donations.
While at Messiah College, Wagner was an outstanding athlete and captained the Falcons for three seasons. He earned All-Middle Atlantic Conference honors in 1991, 1994, and 1995. He compiled a total of 16 goals and 23 assists for a total of 55 points. While in high school, Wagner also played for the varsity boys’ program at Mechanicsburg High School for two seasons. In that time, the Diplomats went from a low of 5-13 to 14-4 and earned a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section III Coach of the Year award.
Goalkeepers on national championship team
The goalkeepers on the Marshall soccer national championship team had a great year. Both had clean sheets and improved on their previous single-season records. Semmle set new single-season records in the NCAA and Marshall, and he broke the record of Enrique Facusse from 2012 with 0.49. The two players finished the season leading the Herd in goals, assists, points, and shutouts.
The Thunderbolts had a talented core of returning players from last season, but added a handful of freshmen to its roster. Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle and a pair of freshmen, Nathan Dossantos and Justin Roberts, helped the team find its rhythm and identity. And with the national championship on the line, the Thundering Herd were in the best possible position to make history.
Both Semmle and Burns were outstanding in goal against Providence College in the second half of the semifinal. The first-half game was scoreless. Burns made one save, while Oliver Semmle stopped a Miguel Candela shot. However, the Herd scored in the second half, after Burns made a crucial save from Pedro Dolabella. The second-half game ended with the Herd leading 1-0.
Despite the stifling heat, both goalkeepers contributed to the Thundering Herd’s success. In the NCAA Tournament, Bezerra set single-season records in goals against average, shutouts, and shutout percentage. He was named the Atlantic 10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and made two appearances on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. He also played in 20 goals and started 19 games. He recorded 80 saves.
Future of the program
The Thundering Herd men’s soccer team has signed head coach Chris Grassie to a five-year contract worth $375,750 per year. The move comes after Grassie successfully led the University of Charleston to consecutive appearances in the Division II National Championship match. While Grassie has had a successful career at Marshall, there are still many questions surrounding the program’s future. Here’s a look at some of the key details surrounding the deal.
The Thundering Herd won their first ever NCAA title Monday. The team defeated perennial powerhouse Indiana 1-0. Jamil Roberts scored the game-winning goal in the first overtime period, giving Marshall the edge to win the national title in 2020. This season’s team is a big deal for Marshall and its fans. The team is poised to be a major force in college soccer, and it has plenty of talent and experience.
A strong senior class led by Alex Khoury, who won a C-USA championship as a sophomore, led the Thunderbolts to a historic season. As a team, Marshall won a program-record 16 games this season. In addition, the team climbed to the No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2001. The Thunderbolts then went on to defeat Kentucky in the Conference USA Tournament, and then clinched the title by beating the Wildcats in the second overtime.