History made as Marshall men鈥檚 soccer knocks off No. 1 Clemson to advance to first NCAA tournament Elite Eight
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (BVM) — May 6, 2021 won鈥檛 soon be forgotten by Marshall University Thundering Herd men鈥檚 soccer fans anytime soon. Not only was the team鈥檚 third- round NCAA Tournament matchup against No. 1 overall seed Clemson a thrilling back-and-forth contest, but also one that saw the Herd advance to the Elite Eight for the first time after beating the Tigers 7-6 on penalty kicks in Cary, N.C.
鈥淜ind of a whirlwind there at the end with the penalties,鈥� Thundering Herd head coach Chris Grassie said . 鈥淚 thought the guys battled really well, played really well. Two good teams because the momentum was back and forth. I thought we had some fantastic chances to win. I鈥檓 pretty happy with the performance.鈥�
The Herd (10-2-3) were coming into the game as an unseeded underdog after beating Fordham in extra time in the tournament鈥檚 second round. Though ranked No. 10 in the country, Marshall would still be facing an uphill battle against Clemson (14-3-3) as the Tigers were ranked not only No. 1 in the tournament, but the entire country. That ranking didn鈥檛 seem to faze the Herd in the early going.
In the 15th minute, a Clemson foul set up a free kick for sophomore Max Schnieder who converted a kick into the top left corner of the net from 30 yards out to give the Herd the 1-0 lead. The goal marked just the second for Schnieder during the campaign and the fourth in his young career.
鈥淢ax has taken some really good free kicks, but the goalkeeper has been able to clearly see the ball and see it,鈥� Grassie said. 鈥淲e analyzed and worked on maybe more distractions and Max and the guys came up with this distraction themselves. 鈥� [It鈥檚] something we expect from him from training and hopefully we get another one soon.鈥�
BOOM! 鈿斤笍馃挜 x
— Marshall University Men's Soccer (@HerdMSoccer)
About 15 minutes later, the Tigers responded with a goal of their own in the 32nd minute as Callum Johnson tapped the ball in after a Clemson corner kick put the ball in the 6-yard box. The two teams would end an aggressive first half that saw more yellow cards than goals as the squads each picked up a pair of yellow cards and went into the break tied 1-1.
Defense would prevail over the next half and two subsequent overtimes as neither team would be able to get the ball in the net. Both teams would finish with 12 total shots while the Tigers would lead the Herd in shots on goal 3-2. One of the Tigers鈥� shots came with six minutes left in the first overtime period, but a spectacular diving save by junior goalkeeper Oliver Semmle kept it from causing any damage.
At the conclusion of the two overtimes, both teams were well worn out from the intense matchup, with many players dealing with cramps in the heat. In total, 38 penalties were handed out, 22 for Clemson and 16 for Marshall, as well as eight yellow cards with five for the Herd and three for the Tigers.
The shootout was similar to the regulation game as the team鈥檚 once again found themselves trading blows. Clemson converted its first three shots and after a Marshall miss on their first attempt, Semmle kept them in the game with a stop against Mohammed Seye on the Tigers鈥� fourth shot. Junior Vinicius Fernandes would convert his shot to tie the game at 3-3.
The two teams would remain even over each of their next three shots as they converted each one to tie the game at 6-6. Facing Quinn McNeill, Semmle would again save the day, no pun intended, as he stopped the shot and gave Marshall a chance to clinch it with a made goal.聽
鈥淥liver Semmle is the best goalkeeper in the country, hands down,鈥� Grassie said. 鈥淗e struggled in the first half with his kicking, but not a problem because he is still brave enough to step up and continue playing those balls.鈥�
What a save by ! 馃槫 x
— Marshall University Men's Soccer (@HerdMSoccer)
It would all come down to a penalty kick by junior midfielder Vitor Dias who would deliver a left-footed dagger into the far side of the net to give Marshall the 1-1, 7-6 PK victory.
鈥淲e have probably taken about 20 or 30 penalty kicks each over the last few weeks in training leading up to this tournament,鈥� Grassie said. 鈥淣othing gets left to chance. We trained it and that was our best group. They were confident, they have done it a million times in training and it鈥檚 a bit different in the Sweet Sixteen but they鈥檝e done it.鈥�
Dagger 馃馃槫 x
— Marshall University Men's Soccer (@HerdMSoccer)
Though the team is likely coming off of its best win in program history, it will not get easier for them. In the next round, the Herd will take on No. 8-seed Georgetown, the tournament鈥檚 defending champions who handled Penn State in their matchup 3-2.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a battle,鈥� Grassie said. 鈥淭wo good possession teams so we will see who gets it behind.鈥�
Though happy to get the win and advance to the Elite Eight for the first time as a program, Grassie knows it is not the endgame for the Herd.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not our goal,鈥� Grassie said. 鈥淥ur goal is not to beat the No. 1 team, our goal is to be the No. 1 team. So this is over, it鈥檚 done, put it behind us, we鈥檙e moving onto the next one against Georgetown in the Elite Eight.鈥�
Marshall will face the Georgetown Hoyas on Monday at 1 p.m. at WakeMed Field #2 in Cary, N.C.
ELITE 8锔忊儯 Bound! 馃煝鈿笍 x
— Marshall University Men's Soccer (@HerdMSoccer)
