Herd It Right: Marshall is Men鈥檚 Soccer College Cup champions
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (BVM) — They believed it all season, but on Monday it officially became a reality as the Marshall Thundering Herd men鈥檚 soccer team hoisted the NCAA Tournament College Cup for the first time in program history. Though many obstacles had to be overcome for the unseeded Herd team to reach the sport鈥檚 highest mark, they were undeterred as they defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 1-0 with an overtime goal in the 98th minute to secure the trophy they so desired.
Goodnight America!
Sincerely,
The Natty Champs馃弳馃— Marshall University Men's Soccer (@HerdMSoccer)
鈥淚t feels a little bit surreal right now to be honest,鈥� Marshall head coach Chris Grassie 听during his postgame press conference. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something I鈥檝e dreamed of. I鈥檝e been on the wrong side of this press conference too many times, three too many times. To finally win it, it鈥檚 a bit of a relief.鈥�
Senior Jamil Roberts, who made the golden goal was all smiles during his postgame press conference. The tournament鈥檚 offensive most outstanding player was reveling in the moment.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a moment to be enjoyed right now,鈥� Roberts . 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to think too far ahead into the future and I don鈥檛 want to think about the past four years. I just want to live in this incredible moment and enjoy it with the best coaching staff in the country, my brothers who are my teammates and the best fans in the nation that are on the field right now.鈥�
As far as the goal itself, the moment was sort of difficult to describe for both player and coach.
“D茅j脿 vu,鈥澨� said Roberts, who converted three game-winning goals during the tournament. 鈥淰itor [Dias] in the box, does something no other player on the pitch can do, the keeper makes a decent save and I鈥檓 there to tap it in. That鈥檚 all I can say d茅j脿 vu, luckily I鈥檓 in the right place at the right time and that鈥檚 what we train. 鈥� It was just the best way to finish this incredible season.鈥�
鈥淚t was just one of those moments where time kind of stopped,鈥� Grassie said of the goal. 鈥淚 was kind of like 鈥榃hat do I do now?鈥�”
HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE 鈥硷笍 ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME!
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer)
For Marshall, it secured a spot in history. The squad became the first unseeded team to win the College Cup since Santa Clara in 2006. It also became the lone Conference USA program to win a national championship, regardless of sport, though some of the conference鈥檚 schools have won as members of other conferences and levels. Grassie was quick to credit the conference鈥檚 teams and coaches for his team鈥檚 own success.
鈥淭here are so many good coaches in Conference USA that have helped us, well not helped us, but we had to beat them and that鈥檚 helped us,鈥� Grassie said. 鈥淭heir work ethic, their drive in the conference has made the conference one of the best conferences in the country and that鈥檚 really challenged us so we鈥檒l have to evolve again for those guys. I think Conference USA is going to get stronger and stronger so as long as we can win in there and compete in there we鈥檒l always be ready to come out and have a run in the tournament.鈥�
馃幍 Championes, Championes 馃幍
Raise that 馃弳 !
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA)
The unit may have seen itself as underappreciated in the national scope, but the members never doubted themselves.
鈥淲e can do this and I feel like 12 months ago we were the only ones that believed that,鈥� Roberts said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know about the rest of my teammates, but I鈥檝e been laughed at for telling people that we could win a national championship like 鈥楩rom Marshall who?鈥� Not bad for a little school from West Virginia with a bunch of internationals eh?鈥�
Although there is some time to savor the moment, Grassie isn鈥檛 one to rest on his laurels. It took him four years to get Marshall to reach the level he had believed they could for so long and now he doesn鈥檛 want to see that fade. With Roberts being the only player projected to leave the team as he joins Sporting Kansas City of the MLS after being drafted by the team earlier this year, Grassie believes the unit could have just as much success next year and is looking ahead already.
鈥淚 find my attention starts turning to 鈥�21 ok how do we repeat?鈥� Grassie said. 鈥淲hat do we need to do? How can we evolve this team? How do we evolve this feeling? How do we transplant this to August? 鈥� How do we take almost every one of these guys except Jamil who are coming back and we鈥檙e going to add a bunch of talented players to this roster so how do we then win it again? What do we have to do to take this magic and transplant it into next season?鈥�
While excited to try and repeat next season, Grassie understands there is time to celebrate with the special group he had. He鈥檒l remember the moments with his team and the squad that helped him win his first and that makes the win that much sweeter.
鈥淚mmensely, immensely proud to be a part of this team,鈥� Grassie said. 鈥淲e all really kind of came together this season and we just got better and better and better. 鈥� It just felt amazing to be around this group. Everyone felt dialed in. Just couldn’t get enough of hanging out, enough of watching scouts and film and working with the guys. It was just one of those things where everyone was feeding off it more and more. 鈥� When it went in, it just felt surreal.鈥�
Though the season may be over, it will be a long time before the celebration in Huntington ends. With their history making championship, it will also be a long time before anybody forgets Marshall and its Cinderella run.
We were never the underdog. 馃榿馃し鈥嶁檪锔�
NATTY CHAMPS! 馃煝馃弳鈿笍
— Marshall University Men's Soccer (@HerdMSoccer)
