Top-seeded No. 1 Marshall and third-seeded No. 5 West Virginia will meet in Sunday’s Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship Final.
The 2023 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship is slated for Sunday, November 12 at 1 p.m. ET at Hoops Family Field. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Match 5: (1) No. 1 Marshall 3, (5) Kentucky (RV) 0
With a spot in the 2023 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship on the line, No. 1 Marshall sought redemption over fifth-seeded Kentucky on Wednesday evening and came out victorious, defeating the Wildcats 2-0 in front of a packed crowd at Hoops Family Field.
After falling to the Wildcats just 17 days prior for only its second loss of the 2023 season, Marshall had its sights set on defending its home turf for the semifinal clash with Kentucky. In what was a heated first half, both squads battled to break the scoreless deadlock.
Four minutes into the second half, it was Marshall’s Alvaro Garcia-Pascual that changed the tide for the Herd. The junior forward stole the ball at center field, darted all the way down the stretch ahead of a pair of Wildcat defenders, and drilled the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. As Kentucky continued to press, the Herd backline stayed strong and continued to fire off chances of their own.
After a slurry of Marshall substitutions, Joao Roberto, running on fresh legs, was able to pad the Herd’s lead with his first strike of the season. As the Wildcats rattled off more shots, the Herd added one more goal to their total with four minutes left on the clock as Matthew Bell found the back of the net after taking a cross from Rai Pinto.
The Wildcats fired off 12 shots on the day, but couldn’t find the back of the net, as Marshall keeper Gabriel Perrotta closed the match with four saves and earned the team’s 11
th shutout of the season.
Match 6: (3) No. 5 West Virginia 2, (7) South Carolina 0
A familiar cast of characters propelled No. 3-seeded West Virginia into Sunday’s Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship final with a 2-0 victory over No. 7-seeded South Carolina.
West Virginia fifth-year midfielder Luke McCormick charged up the left flank, tiptoed down the end line and beat the South Carolina goalkeeper to the near post to give the Mountaineers an early 1-0 advantage in the 13th minute.
A South Carolina handball in the box set up a penalty kick for Mountaineers senior forward Yutaro Tsukada in the 50th minute. A slight hesitation as he ran onto the ball drew a reaction from the South Carolina goalkeeper and allowed him to slot the ball home in the lower right corner of the frame to make it 2-0 West Virginia.
McCormick also netted the equalizer for West Virginia in Sunday’s 3-1 quarterfinal win over No. 6-seeded Georgia State, while Tsukada provided the second and third markers for the first multi-goal game of his Mountaineer career.
South Carolina’s best opportunity came in the 81st minute, when West Virginia senior goalkeeper Jackson Lee stopped a bouncing header to preserve the clean sheet.
For West Virginia head coach Dan Stratford, the victory marked the 100
th of his career.
2023 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Tournament
Quarterfinals – Sunday, November 5
Hosted by No. 1 Marshall
Match 1 – (1) Marshall 2, (8) Old Dominion 0
Match 2 – (5) Kentucky 2, (4) James Madison 1
Hosted by No. 2 UCF
Match 3 – (3) West Virginia 3, (6) Georgia State 1
Match 4 – (7) South Carolina 2, (2) UCF 1
Semifinals – Wednesday, November 8
Hosted by No. 1 Marshall
Match 5 – (1) Marshall 3, (5) Kentucky 0
Hosted by No. 2 UCF
Match 6 – (3) West Virginia 2, (7) South Carolina 0
Championship – Sunday, November 12
Hosted by No. 1 Marshall
Match 7 – (1) Marshall vs. (3) West Virginia, 1 p.m.