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.”