Nov. 16, 2007

Final Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Marshall University's soccer season came to an unfortunate end when the Florida Internal Panthers scored two minutes into overtime to advance to the Conference USA Championship game with a 3-2 victory, Friday evening at West Complex Field.

The Herd reached the C-USA semifinal for the second time in three years, but again came up on the short end. Marshall and Florida International entered Friday's match after upsets in the quarterfinals, and with the loss, the Herd falls to 10-9-1 overall and the Panthers improves to 5-13-2.

Marshall jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when sophomore defender Nick Daniele found the back of the net from a pass by Jermaine Johnson. Daniele registered his first career goal on the play and Johnson recorded his fourth assist this season.

The Herd, 7-2 when scoring first, couldn't maintain its lead before halftime and the Panthers scored at the 38th minute with an unassisted goal from Mario Franca.

Marshall would play down a man in the second half and the Panthers would capitalize on the advantage. Steven Cabas scored his fifth goal of the season from an assist by Phillip Fisher at the 67th minute.

Down 2-1, the Herd fought back and kept it's vigorous pursuit on the offensive end. After a penalty was called inside the box, Avneet Shergill utilized the free opportunity and scored his sixth goal of the season with 18 minutes left in regulation.

The two schools would battle back and forth the rest of the way, but neither team was able to score in the allotted 90 minutes. Juan Guerra secured the victory for the Panthers in the sudden victory period from an unassisted goal off a direct kick 25 yards out.

Marshall's goalkeeper Brad Kennedy recorded 10 saves, which gives him 57 on the year and 85 in his Marshall career.

The Herd finish the season with a winning record, which hasn't been accomplished since the 2004 season. The Herd reached the semifinal after an upset over third-seeded Kentucky, 3-1 Wednesday night. Marshall defeated Florida Interanal during the regular season, 2-1 in Orlando.

The Panthers qualified for the semifinal after capturing victory over second-seeded SMU.

The Panthers continue its Cinderalla journey in the conference championship, Sunday Nov. 15 against the winner of the South Carolina and Tulsa match up. For further details visit the conference website at www.conferenceusa.com.