HUNTINGTON — The Marshall men's and women's soccer teams opened with exhibition wins on Saturday at Hoops Family Field. Both teams played in front of near-sellout crowds.
Men's soccer
No. 2 MARSHALL 2, VILLANOVA 0: Hoops Family Field was filled to the brim. Louie Salkeld, an England native and a spring transfer from East Tennessee State, scored the final goal and spent all night signing autographs and taking photos.
“First of all, the turnout from the fans is unbelievable,†Salkeld said. “It’s my first real game here, apart from the spring. They really showed out. I’m really looking forward to the season because of that. This was just for an exhibition, so I wonder what it will be like when we play WVU, Kentucky and all of that. I’m really looking forward to it.
“Tonight was great to get some real minutes under our legs and not just playing against each other and kicking each other all over the park like normal. I really enjoyed it. Good to be out there.â€
Salkeld was joined by Rai Pinto in scoring. Theo Godard and Keaviano Francis assisted.
The Herd’s patient offense, stinging when available early before pushing to its wings late, limited the Wildcats to just two shots while it had 24. Villanova spent much of its defensive efforts with five players back.
“We always prepare for every game excellently," Salkeld said. "When they came out with five in the back, it wasn’t really something we thought originally. We identified it early, and then at halftime and in the first half, we said that we could exploit it by going to the wide areas. We had 2v1’s and 1v1’s – we know that anyone on our team we can back on a 1v1.â€
Once the Herd began to challenge the outside, momentum swung. Francis secured a second chance outside before breaking away from his defender and crossing from wide-open space to Pinto in the box. Pinto connected on a header to break the knot, 1-0.
Villanova picked up a late free kick as it spent the final moments in Marshall territory, but nothing came from its chances as Marshall saved Villanova’s only shot on goal.
“It’s a lot of new guys, so we’ll have good nights and bad nights,†Herd coach Chris Grassie said. “I think there were some things that could’ve [gone] against us a little bit with a free kick. We missed a lot of chances. It could’ve gone either way, but that’s soccer sometimes. In the Vermont game [the 2024 national title game won by the Catamounts], we dominated, and then it happened the way it happened, you know. So it’s good to see a good start.â€
The Herd scored on a free kick assist from Godard in the 56th minute. Salkeld put a head on it in the scrum to give Marshall insurance.
Marshall will host Radford on Monday for another exhibition match, beginning at 7:15 p.m.
Women's soccer
MARSHALL 9, PIKEVILLE 0: Hurricane native Bailey Fisher and newcomer Tiggi Gent finished with two goals apiece as the Herd held the Bears without a single shot while it plugged 40 into the stat sheet.
"Today, I felt they played as they were supposed to," Marshall coach Rafa Simoes said. "They like to be called the girls from Huntington, so they are very attached to the community. Today was a very great day to be a Herd fan. We keep going and will keep building from this win."
The Herd dominated possession, forcing the Bears into a packed box defensively early on. Marshall commonly found space.
Immediately, Fisher blitzed ahead and scored a goal 30 seconds in, assisted by Brooklyn McComas.
Fisher is making the transition to striker this season, bringing versatility to shift outside from her time as a winger to a more offensive role.
"Bailey is one of the players that we really hope to get her to the pro level," Simoes said. "She is just mentally tough. She works hard, and she's gotten better every year. She holds a high school record in goals, so we hope to see her going to the next level by the end of the season."
In the fourth minute, Larissa Ozorio scored after sliding through the defensive wall for a 1-on-1 chance. Midfielder Ami Komori assisted her on a skip for a 2-0 lead.
McComas scored 15 minutes later as Geovanna Souza picked up her first of two assists. Souza rallied possession to the far side of the field, drawing UPike keeper Neveah Brown out of position before pushing to McComas for an open net in the center of the box.
Marshall’s lead increased to 4-0 in the 23rd minute as Fisher scored her second, breaking away to score unassisted.
Fisher led Marshall in points last season and tied for the Herd lead in goals.
McKinney followed three minutes later before Gent scored twice in quick succession. She pulled one on another assist from Souza, played well into a free net before Gent then brought a touch down and flicked it from the air for a 7-0 lead in the 40th minute.
By the end of the first half, Marshall led 8-0 and held a 31-0 advantage in shots. Marshall took 15 shots on goal in the first half alone.
Any time the line ahead was clogged, Marshall worked back to reset. The game plan never ceded a chance to UPike.
Luana Gusmao scored in the 48th minute as Marshall pressured throughout the second half, holding UPike without a chance in a perfect shutout.
Marshall will head on the road to Morehead State for a 7 p.m. matchup on Thursday in its regular-season opener.
