Rhys Owens
11-14-24
On a cool November evening, the Marshall Thundering Herd took on the JMU Dukes in a pivotal semi-final game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament. The rematch of their regular season showdown, which ended 2-2, lived up to the hype.
With JMU’s season on the line and Marshall looking to advance and face either UK or WVU in a regional rivalry game, the stakes were high. The game began with Marshall possessing the ball; a steady dose of defense and offense for the Herd would dominate the first half.
Shots by Marshall’s own Loic Sany Kong, Alexander Stjernegaard, and Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos would all miss or be blocked. Despite this, the Herd refused to give up. Finally, in the 35th minute, the ball found the feet of dos Santos. He would rocket a shot in the direction of the net, which hit off a JMU defender making its way past Dukes goalkeeper Sebastian Conlon. The own goal would give Marshall the lead, making it 1-0, putting JMU in a similar spot to the one it forced Marshall into earlier in the season.
Marshall would get another shot at a goal before the end of the 1st, all three of the previously stated Herd players would get shots off in the JMU box. However, great goalkeeping by Conlon would prevent the Herd from going up 2-0. Going into halftime, Marshall held all the momentum, not allowing a single shot by the Dukes throughout the first half.
Coming into the 2nd, JMU needed to score. However, the Marshall defense was braced for attack; stout defense by the Herd would open its offense, allowing for Marshall counterattacks. JMU’s Sebastian Conlon would deny multiple Marshall shots, keeping the Dukes afloat.
During the game, referees held their whistles allowing for a gritty and physical contest; however, in the 59th minute, Marshall’s Rai Pinto would be given a red card after making contact with a JMU player making a run at the box. His ejection left the Herd with only ten men on the field, making Marshall’s job of closing the game even harder.
Despite the ejection and some chippy play seeing both sides get into a shoving match, Marshall was able to seal the deal, preventing an on-target shot within the last 15 minutes of play. The Thundering Herd displayed elite defense and the ability to create shots. The day after the game Marshall would appeal the own goal call, dos Santo’s would be given the goal making it the Brazilian’s 10th score of the season.
The Herd will head to Morgantown on Sunday, November 17th, to play the WVU Mountaineers in another rematch from the regular season at 1:00 pm.