Shane Darling
10-4-2024
The matchup between the 10th ranked James Madison Dukes and 5th ranked Marshall Thundering Herd was similar to a wedding ceremony; a tie was necessary.
Hoops Family Field played host to this phenomenal top ten contest, and a 7:15 p.m. kickoff under the lights on a Friday night only enhanced the atmosphere for a game that kept fans in suspense.
The game began with James Madison getting on the board early, as redshirt-senior forward Evan Southern had his shot blocked by a swarm of Herd players, but then was able to bury the rebound for a 14th minute goal.
The Thundering Herd would attempt to equalize, getting three shots off within the next 11 minutes, but were not able to find nylon, and the game remained 1-0 in favor of the Dukes going into halftime.
The second half began similar to the first, as James Madison redshirt-senior defender Josiah Blanton found the back of the net in the 56th minute after a Marshall defender slipped trying to receive a pass. It appeared as though Herd fans would go home unhappy after the second goal, but Marshall turned on the jets and stormed back late.
The Thundering Herd began to rally and ended up sending in nine shots in the last 26 minutes of the game. Redshirt-sophomore midfielder Marco Silva, one of Marshall’s leading goal scorers on the season, was able to knock a 70th minute shot off a JMU defender that found the bottom right corner of the net. That brought Marco Silva up to four goals on the year.
Time started dwindling down on the Herd, but with under four minutes left to play in the match, senior forward Tarik Pannholzer hit a cross to sophomore forward Joao Roberto, who was able to score the second goal of his career as he was falling down and the ball ended up squeaking by the diving JMU goalkeeper.
Both teams were able to get another shot off after the equalizer, but this incredible game remained knotted up, as the squads were so evenly matched that a tie was fitting. It is hard to think of a better game so far this season in the college men’s soccer world, and it will definitely be difficult to top this epic Sun Belt Conference matchup.
James Madison leaves Huntington with a 5-0-4 record, while Marshall now posts a 7-1-2 record. The Herd heads to Orlando for a battle against UCF on Friday, opening kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.