Marshall Edges Radford Soccer

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - Jeremy Ashe scored on a great pass from Karim Boukhemis to give the Thundering Herd men's soccer team a one goal lead which it would be able to hold on to and defeat Radford, 2-1, Sunday at Sam Hood Field. (Box Score)

Early on, the game was a defensive struggle with both teams having limited opportunities. There were only nine shots taken in the first half with Marshall (10-7-2) having five and Radford (6-5-4) having four.

Radford seemed to have the better chances in the half, and with two and a half minutes left, they struck first, taking a 1-0 lead. Ramon Negron slipped a pass through two defenders to find Tyler Leveski, who scored on a short breakaway.

Marshall picked up its game in the second half, and 20 minutes in tied the game up. Jeremy Ashe was streaking in from the left side and made a perfect pass to Nicholas Ademolu, who put the ball in the back of the net to tie it.

The Herd gained momentum from the goal, and just seven minutes later capitalized on it, taking a 2-1 lead. This time, Boukhemis was coming down the right side and made another great pass to Ashe who scored what would later be the game winner.

Radford had a chance to tie the game back up with about five minutes left when the ball was loose in front of the Marshall goal, but a Marshall defender was able to clear the ball and the Highlanders were unable to muster up any more offense as the Herd held them off for its tenth win of the season.

This marked the first win for Marshall against the Highlanders. Prior to today's game, Radford held a 4-0-2 edge over the Herd.

Goalie Joe Nebel had another solid game for the Herd making two saves on three Highlander shots on goal. Radford junior Omar Zinoveev made three saves and played the complete game.

MU had a strong second half, recording seven shots to four by Radford. The Herd out-shot Radford, 12-8 for the game.

Marshall finishes the regular season with a 10-7-2 record, the best record since 2001 when they went 12-7. Boukhemis finishes as the leading scorer with 16 points (seven goals and two assists). His seven goals was also the top performance for MU.

RU will close out the regular season Saturday with a home game against Furman at 1:00 pm.