Marshall falls 3-0 to FAU

            Ramon Whittaker scored two second-half goals to give Florida Atlantic a 3-0 victory over the Marshall men’s soccer team, which continued to struggle offensively.

            Whittaker, senior from Clarendon, Jamaica, scored goals in the 60th and 64th minutes to add to the first half goal from Jason Fitzgerald, sophomore from Parkland, Florida, to put the Saturday night game at Hoops Family Field out of reach for the offensive-challenged Thundering Herd.

            “We thought this was a game we could go after them, but right now we don’t have anyone who wants to step-up and score goals,” head coach Bob Gray said. “We’ve been struggling. We have to find someone that has the know-how and tenacity to find ways to score goals.”

            Marshall (2-5-2, 1-1-0) outshot Florida Atlantic (1-5-2, 1-0-1) 15-8 and won the corner kick battle 10-3. Despite the offensive output, Florida Atlantic goalkeeper Theo Jamilloux, sophomore from Toulouse, France, made four saves to shutout Marshall in front of 657 spectators.

            “The problem is we really don’t get clear-cut chances,” said Christian Kershaw, freshman from Severna Park, Maryland. “They’re more half chances. We’re reaching and poking it. Clear-cut one-on-one opportunities are what we need to develop in order to win.”

            The Thundering Herd won two games in a row on the road winning 1-0 at both Evansville and South Carolina before consecutive losses falling 1-0 to Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) on the road and the Florida Atlantic loss at home.

            “It’s been a work in progress,” Gray said. “We thought we had figured it out. This is the third straight game we started the same line-up. It wasn’t like we changed a bunch of things.”

Changes may be on the horizon and the changes may start with Daniel Jodah, sophomore from Misissauga, Ontario.

            “We may have to experiment with getting someone up top that’s going to be a little more dangerous,” Gray said. “We may have to find ways to better utilize Daniel Jodah. He seems to be the one guy who has the ability to beat players.”

            With Conference USA play in full swing, Gray said time is running out.

            “We’re just not a very good team right now,” Gray said. “That’s the bottom line. We have to get right in a hurry.”

            Marshall will look to reverse its offensive woes on Wednesday in a Conference USA match-up against Old Dominion. Following the Monarchs the Thundering Herd travels to Kentucky on Sunday to take on another conference foe in the Wildcats.

Bob Gray's reflects on 20 years at Marshall

            Bob Gray has been at the helm of Marshall men’s soccer longer than a few of his current players have been alive.

            Gray is in his 20th season at Marshall and his 37th as a head a coach. Gray has a career record of 426-242-56. He spent 14 seasons at his alma mater Alderson-Broaddus (1978-1991) and three seasons at the University of Mobile (1992-1994) before taking the job at Marshall in 1995.

            “I didn’t think I’d be doing it this long,” Gray said. “When I took the job (at Marshall) I knew at the time it was a rebuilding project. We were still playing in the football stadium. I inherited a program that was on the down cline for a while. There was a lot of potential there and I loved being in West Virginia because I spent 14 years at my alma mater Alderson-Broaddus. I knew it was a place I’d want to live. Here I am 20 years later and I’m still here.”

            Through seven games in the 2014 campaign Gray has a 171-166-4 mark at Marshall with one conference championship in 2000 when the school was part of the Mid-American Conference and two Conference-USA Coach of Year honors in 2005 and 2009.

            The size of Marshall made it the perfect fit for Gray 20 years ago.

            “It’s the kind of school that wasn’t too big and wasn’t too small,” Gray said. “My old high school coach told me you want to be a big fish in a small pond not a small fish in a big pond. I felt you could have the best of both worlds here at Marshall."

            Gray was one of the most successful coaches in NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) history amassing 255 wins and multiple NAIA tournament appearances at Alderson-Broaddus and the University of Mobile. His accomplishments landed him in the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1998.

            Though he successful in the NAIA level Gray said he has not accomplished what he set out to do at Marshall.

            “I wanted to get to the NCAA tournament and we haven’t accomplished that,” Gray said. “We’ve won one conference championship. You have to measure your accomplishments in different ways. There are some things we’ve accomplished and other things left to be done.”

            Gray cherishes the wins he has had at Marshall, but his fondest memories go beyond the final score of games.

            “Beating Duke (in 1996) when they were number two in the country,” Gray said of his fondest memory at Marshall. “But, you have a lot of fond memories. A key to any coach is the athletes that play for him and the relationships that you develop. I look back and I still get emails from guys that played for me on that first team at Marshall. That’s what makes this job so enjoyable. You have an effect on kids’ lives and they have an effect on your life.”

            A losing season is what Gray considers a bad memory or year, but said as a coach you take the good with the bad.

            With his success at Marshall Gray said he has not looked for a job since he accepted the Marshall job and has no timetable to call it a career.

            “I’m at that point where it’s one year at a time and see how it goes,” Gray said. “There aren’t too many of us who have lasted this long. I’ll do it as long as I enjoy it and my health allows me to.”

            A characteristic Gray gained playing sports is what he considers the reason why he has been a successful coach.

            “My competitive nature,” Gray said. “I enjoy competition. I played a lot of sports when I was growing up and was competitive there and it carried over to coaching.”

            Gray’s experience as a coach helps the players trust him when he is teaching a skill or play.

            “I know the experience he has as a coach and where he’s been and the things he’s done as a coach,” Matt Freeman, junior defender from Irmo, South Carolina, said. “I really trust his ability and him to make me a better player and make the team a good team.”

            Jack Hopkins, junior midfielder from Birmingham, Alabama, said Gray will push players and that is the most valuable skill Gray has taught him.

            “He teaches people to work harder than they think they can,” Hopkins said. “He keeps pushing you and pushing you until you get the job done.”

 

The International Flavor of Marshall Men's soccer

Corey Bodden

JMC 303 Assignment 8

 

            It is no secret soccer is a global game. Over 25 billion people watched the 2006 World Cup and more than 715 million watched the final between France and Italy.

            But, soccer in the U.S. is not as popular. According to Joe Gisondi and his book Field Guide to Covering Sports, “Major League Soccer teams average fewer than 20,000” spectators per game and TV ratings are not better.  

            Head coach Bob Gray is no stranger to recruiting overseas and other countries and international players are beginning to take over the men’s soccer team.

            Eight of the 26 student-athletes on the team came to Marshall from another country. These players are: Goran Bractic, freshman forward from Belgrade, Serbia, Scott Doney, freshman forward from Tauranga, New Zealand, Arthur Duchesne, sophomore defender from Piegut Pluviers, France, Nick Edginton, junior defender from Wellington, New Zealand, Ryan Forde, sophomore midfielder from London, England, Daniel Jodah, sophomore midfielder from Mississauga, Ontario, Dominik Reining, freshman goalkeeper from Frankfurt, Germany and Ivan Sekulic, freshman midfielder from Zagreb, Croatia.

            “I’ve been doing for this for 38 years and always had international kids on my team,” Gray, who is in his 20th season at Marshall, said. “It’s actually a pretty easy sell. Marshall is a wonderful school. Our facilities are outstanding now. It’s in a very safe community and a quality education along with a very good soccer conference.”

            Marshall’s new soccer facility, Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex, opened on Aug. 23, 2013. The facility includes Hoops Family Field, where home games are played, and separate training rooms and locker rooms for the men’s and women’s teams.

            All eight players have started at least one game and played in multiple contests. Doney, Forde and Jodah each have one goal on the season and are the only goals Marshall (1-3-2) has scored in six games.

            Minus Reining, the other seven players have attempted at least one shot. International players have attempted 50 of the 67 shots on the season accounting for 75 percent of the production. Of the 20 shots on goal, 19 have been attempted by international players accounting for 95 percent of the production.

            “They bring a different element to the team,” Gray said. “Not only from the talent, but just from culture.”

            Though Gray believes it is easy to sell Marshall to international student-athletes the overall process is not as easy.

            “The difficulty is getting to see them play enough times to be convinced that they’re really going to help us out,” Gray said. “The international paperwork you have to go through just to try and get them admitted into school and through the NCAA Clearinghouse (is difficult).”

            Doney, Forde and Jodah explained why they left their home countries and picked Marshall as their home.

            “I wanted to go further in football,” Doney said. “It’s kind of hard in New Zealand. To get further you need to get out of the country when you’re younger. I also wanted to continue my academics as well. I felt this (Marshall) was the best option for me.”

            “I wanted to carry on playing football. Basically if you go to a university back home you have to choose academics or athletics,” Forde said. “But, here you have the best of both worlds.”

            “I thought because I had been playing where I was playing for a long time that it was time for a change and adapt to certain aspects of the game,” Jodah said.

            The trio said American culture has not been difficult to adjust to, but Forde has not quite adjusted to what he considers the difference between the U.S. and England.

            “(The) size of the country,” Forde said. “You can’t get anywhere without a car here. I’m used to going everywhere (in) buses, cabs (and) taxis.”

            The speed of the game and physical nature of soccer in the U.S. are the biggest changes, the trio said, compared to soccer in their home countries.

            “In the U.S. it’s more physically demanding,” Jodah said. “I’d say it’s more about fitness and I’d say the game is a lot more faster. Personally, I think it’s a lot better.”

            The 18 members of the team from the U.S. have been accepting to the international players the trio said and helped them feel at home.

            “The boys have been really welcoming,” Doney said. “So, I’ve been feeling quite well here. Having another New Zealand guy (Edginton) on the team helped a lot coming over here.”

Corrected version of Assignment 4

Corey Bodden

JMC 303 Assignment 4

            Ryan Forde and Scott Doney secured the first goals for Marshall men’s soccer, but it was not enough to secure a victory on Sunday against the Liberty Flames as the game ended in a 2-2 tie after two overtimes.

            A handball by Liberty near its own goal in the 32nd minute led to a penalty kick for Forde, sophomore from London, England. Forde hit the back of the net to score Marshall’s (0-2-1) first goal of the season and tied the game at 1-1 after Liberty (2-0-1) struck first at Hoops Family Field at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex in the 27th minute with a goal by Bay Kurtz, freshman from Crown Point, Indiana, after an assist from Blessing Tahuona, junior from Harare, Zimbabwe, in the 27th minute.

            “I think we broke the ice today,” head coach Bob Gray said of the first goals of the year. “It was like getting the monkey off your back to get a goal. We just have to be a little more efficient when we get into the final third and especially when we get into the box.”

            Troy Reeves, freshman from Keller, from Keller, Texas, took the ball himself and scored to give Liberty the lead in the 54th minute. Liberty seemed to be in control of the match until Doney, freshman from Tauranga, New Zealand, received a pass from Matt Freeman, junior from Irmo, S.C., in the 6-yard box and scored the equalizer in the 84th minute.

            With the teams tied 2-2 sudden death overtime decided the match with a 10-minute period followed by another if necessary.

            Marshall controlled both overtime periods getting off five shots compared to zero from the Flames, but none of the five shots slipped past Liberty goalkeeper Scott Sutarik and Marshall was unable to secure its first victory of the season in front of 414 spectators.

            “I think we just need to keep working. We need to keep practicing,” Forde said of what the team needs to do to win a match. “We’re still a relatively young team, mostly juniors and freshmen, so (we) still got a lot to learn. If we keep practicing together hopefully things will gel.”

            Marshall outshot Liberty 20-9 and secured more corner kicks 6-5 despite Gray changing the line-up multiple times.

            “They’re (Liberty) one of the top teams in the Big South (Conference), but I thought it was our game to win today,” Gray said. “We need a lot of work. We’re young.  We’re really trying to find the right combinations out there. We found out a little bit about ourselves today.”

            Gray and the Thundering Herd will look for its first victory on Monday Sept. 15 as Appalachian State (0-3-1) invades Hoops Family Field.

            “We’ve got seven days off, which is a blessing,” Gray said. “App. State will be a good test for us, but with the seven days of work that we have maybe we can do some of the right things that’ll produce a victory for us.”

 

Corrections made:

1. In the lead paragraph I inferred the team scored the goals rather than the actual players. I should have identified the players in the lead.

2. I did not list the class the Liberty players I mentioned are. (Freshman, etc.) Easy fix and lazy mistake as I had the information in my game notes provided by the sports information department.

3. I made the apple/oranges mistake. I mentioned the team scored its first goals of the season, but did not mention who scored the goals for Marshall and instead talked about Liberty first.

4. I did not properly stylize “head coach.” Easy fix now that I for sure know the correct way to do so.

5. I failed to mention the high drama of overtime until midway through the story. That is an important fact and would draw the readers in to see how it got to that point.

6. I used an editorial phrase “Unfortunately for Marshall...”. A silly mistake and an easy fix to not editorialize in any story not an editorial.

Marshall Men's Soccer Plays Liberty to 2-2 draw (Sunday 9/7)

Corey Bodden

            Marshall men’s soccer scored its first goals of the season, but it was not enough to secure a victory on Sunday against the Liberty Flames as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

            Liberty (2-0-1) struck first at Hoops Family Field at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex in the 27th minute with a goal by Bay Kurtz after an assist from Blessing Tahuona.

            Marshall (0-2-1) answered a few minutes later. A handball by Liberty near its own goal in the 32nd minute led to a penalty kick for Ryan Forde, sophomore from London, England. Forde hit the back of the net to score Marshall’s first goal of the season and tied the game at 1-1.

            “I think we broke the ice today,” Head Coach Bob Gray said of the first goals of the year. “It was like getting the monkey off your back to get a goal. We just have to be a little more efficient when we get into the final third and especially when we get into the box.”

            Troy Reeves took the ball himself and scored to give Liberty the lead in the 54th minute. Liberty seemed to be in control of the match until Scott Doney, freshman from Tauranga, New Zealand, received a pass from Matt Freeman, junior from Irmo, S.C., in the 6-yard box and scored the equalizer in the 84th minute.

            With the teams tied 2-2 sudden death overtime decided the match with a 10-minute period followed by another if necessary.

            Marshall controlled both overtime periods getting off five shots compared to zero from the Flames. Unfortunately for Marshall and the Thundering Herd faithful among the 414 spectators none of the five shots slipped past Liberty goalkeeper Scott Sutarik and Marshall was unable to secure its first victory of the season.

            “I think we just need to keep working. We need to keep practicing,” Forde said of what the team needs to do to win a match. “We’re still a relatively young team, mostly juniors and freshmen, so (we) still got a lot to learn. If we keep practicing together hopefully things will gel.”

            Marshall outshot Liberty 20-9 and secured more corner kicks 6-5 despite Gray changing the line-up multiple times.

            “They’re (Liberty) one of the top teams in the Big South (Conference), but I thought it was our game to win today,” Gray said. “We need a lot of work. We’re young.  We’re really trying to find the right combinations out there. We found out a little bit about ourselves today.”

            Gray and the Thundering Herd will look for its first victory on Monday Sept. 15 as Appalachian State (0-3-1) invades Hoops Family Field.

            “We’ve got seven days off, which is a blessing,” Gray said. “App. State will be a good test for us, but with the seven days of work that we have maybe we can do some of the right things that’ll produce a victory for us.”

I have chosen the Marshall Men's Soccer team as my beat for this semester. This is the home for all news regarding Marshall's Men's Soccer team. I will provide breaking news, updates, game scores and articles on everything related to the Men's soccer team at Marshall University. There is a Twitter account associated with this blog. Follow @mumenssoccer303 on Twitter for quick news updates regarding the men's soccer team. If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact myself on here or via email at bodden1@live.marshall.edu.