— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Old Dominion scored twice off a play it hadn’t scored on all season, and combined with the work of freshman goalkeeper Michael Statham, who proved to be quite the backstop, the Monarchs knocked off No. 4 Marshall 2-1 Saturday night at Hoops Family Field/Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex.
Monarchs coach Alan Dawson said his team had not scored a goal off a corner kick prior to Saturday. His team converted on two out of three chances off corner kicks Saturday and Statham stopped six of seven shots on goal as the Thundering Herd lost its first home match since 2019 against UTRGV and saw its unbeaten streak end at eight.
“Great timing,” Dawson said of the execution. “It was not easy. They’re very deserving of their No. 4 ranking. They’re the best team we’ve played.”
ODU players on the bench charged the field when the final whistle blew to celebrate the achievement with teammates. The celebration continued in the locker room.
On both ODU goals, Louis Beckett took the corners. Michael Eberle scored on the first at 15:04. The second came when Samuel Mar Kristinsson sent a header in off Beckett entry at 63:12 to leave the Herd fans in the crowd of 1,438 stunned and quite quiet.
Marshall finally broke through at 73:14 when Gabriel Alves blasted a shot from outside the box past Statham and a shocked ODU backline. The Herd kept pressing, but the Monarchs were up to the task.
Marshall coach Chris Grassie had a difficult time accepting this outcome after his team held a 19-3 edge in corner kicks and 25-8 edge in shots taken.
“We’ve come up against this before,” Grassie said of encountering a hot keeper. “We had a lot of chances. We made two mistakes on the same play. We have to defend better.”
At the same time, the Herd (7-2-2, 2-1-2 Sun Belt Conference) has to be content to remain No. 2 in the league standings. No. 1 Kentucky earned a 3-3 tie at West Virginia on Saturday night.
“We threw away a chance to be No. 1 in the conference,” Grassie said. “We have to come back strong.”
Marshall’s next match is Wednesday against Georgia State in Atlanta.
The Monarchs are 5-4-2 and 2-1-1 in the Sun Belt.
It was Old Dominion’s first win over a Top 5 team since 2014.
Dawson had to tip his hat to the job turned in by Statham. He entered the match with a .800 save percentage and four saves per game, both tops in league.
“He’s one of the best goalkeepers in the country,” Dawson said. “He does very well on his feet. He knows where to move.”
Old Dominion regained the series lead as well at 6-5-1.