Championship Central
NEW ORLEANS – West Virginia, Marshall, Kentucky and James Madison secured spots in the semifinals of the 2024 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship on Sunday.
Top-seeded West Virginia cameback to defeat Georgia Southern, while Marshall took down Old Dominion 3-2 in Huntington. Kentucky outlasted South Carolina 1-0 and James Madison upset UCF 2-1 to end the night.
Semifinal matchups in the 2024 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship will kick off Wednesday, November 10 with West Virginia hosting Kentucky and Marshall hosting James Madison, both at 7 p.m. ET.
(1) West Virginia 3, (8) Georgia Southern 2
No. 1-seeded West Virginia overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat No. 8-seeded Georgia Southern 3-2 in the opening round of the Sun Belt Championship.
Both teams were held scoreless through the first 35 minutes of the quarterfinal before junior forward Zach Martin found the back of the net for the Eagles. Less than a minute later Martin was there again to clean up on a Georgia Southern penalty shot as his brace put the up Eagles 2-0 shortly before the end of the first half.
Yet before the half, with just ten seconds remaining, West Virginia was able to pressure the Georgia Southern defense enough for goalie Nate Martinez to come off his line and commit a foul. Forward Marcus Caldeira would convert a penalty to bring the top-seeded Mountaineers within one heading into the locker room.
The Mountaineer defense would shut out the Eagles in the second half, holding them to a single shot on goal. Senior defender Carlos Hernando would knot things up in the 62nd minute of the match heading a goal into the back of the net, swinging the momentum the Mountaineers way. The Sun Belt’s player of the year and offensive player of the year, Sergio Ors Navarro would beat his defender and head a ball that crossed into the box into the net, giving the Mountaineers the go-ahead goal in the 82nd minute.
West Virginia outshot the Georgia Southern, 20-6, with shots on goal even at four. The Mountaineers also had an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks.
(2) Marshall 3, (7) Old Dominion 2
No. 2-seeded Marshall used three second-half goals—all coming in the 75th minute or later—to defeat No. 7-seeded Old Dominion, 3-2, in the Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship quarterfinals.
Old Dominion carried a 1-0 lead into the break on a 35th minute marker from graduate student forward Noah Madrigal. Monarchs freshman defender Marcelo Randolf made a streaking run up the center of the pitch and flicked the ball off to Madrigal at the far corner of the 18-yard box. After a settling touch, Madrigal rocketed the ball past Marshall redshirt freshman goalkeeper Dan Rose and into the bottom right side of the netting.
The momentum turned late in the second half, when Marshall was awarded a penalty kick following a handball in the box in the 75th minute. Thundering Herd senior midfielder Pablo Simon beat Old Dominion junior goalkeeper Michael Statham to the right for the equalizer. Just three minutes later, sophomore forward Joao Roberto collected his own rebound off the crossbar and slotted it home—again off the crossbar—giving Marshall its first lead of the contest in the 78th minute.
Marshall added an insurance goal in the 87th minute. After a deflection, sophomore defender Rai Pinto one-timed a cross from senior forward Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos into an open frame from the dead center mark of the six-yard line. The insurance proved valuable, as Old Dominion got one back in the 88th minute. Junior defender Evan Watt headed home a curling cross from junior forward Michael Eberle on the far corner of the six-yard box to produce the final 3-2 margin.
(4) Kentucky 1, (5) South Carolina 0
No. 4-seeded Kentucky fought through tough conditions, netting a singular goal in the second half to hold off No. 5-seeded South Carolina for a 1-0 victory in the Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship quarterfinals.
Despite South Carolina holding a 4-3 shot advantage in the opening 45 minutes of the match, Kentucky would hold them to just a single shot on goal. Carolina had the early opportunity to score in the 20th minute when it was awarded a penalty kick after forward Martin Yahia was taken down inside the box. Wildcats’ junior goalkeeper Casper Mols would make a leaping save to keep the Gamecocks scoreless.
Heavy rain persisted through the second half as the two teams continued to attack the net. The Wildcats would get the opportunity to take the lead as they were awarded a penalty kick in the 64th minute. First Team All-Sun Belt selection Logan Dorsey would convert on it for the lone goal of the match, sealing the victory for the Wildcats.
The lone goal marked Dorsey’s 13
th of the season, which ties him for the most in the Sun Belt with West Virginia’s Sergio Ors Navarro. The two will face off in Wednesday night’s semifinal with the chance to advance to the tournament championship.
(3) UCF 1, (6) James Madison 2
No. 6-seeded James Madison rode a pair of second-half tallies to a 2-1 victory over No. 3-seeded UCF in the Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship quarterfinals.
UCF held James Madison without a shot in the first half and produced the two best chances of the period. The first came in the 21st minute, when fifth-year forward Lucca Dourado received a cross at the six-yard box and sent the ball off the far post. The second came in the 33rd minute, as junior forward Clarence Awoudor played the ball up to redshirt freshman Malana Mandiang inside the box. Mandiang tapped it over to senior forward Emmanuel Bam, who sliced the ball just wide of the near post.
The Dukes attack came alive in the second half, with redshirt senior forward Evan Southern creating space just inside the 18-yard box and slotting the ball into the far side netting in the 65th minute to break the ice. After UCF fifth-year defender Jonas Fritschi was shown a straight red card for a takedown of Southern a step outside the 18-yard box in the 70th minute, James Madison was able to extend its lead to 2-0 in the 74th. Graduate student midfielder Aidan Melville laid the ball off for junior midfielder Kevin Larsson outside the box and Larsson rocketed a low strike just inside the post and into the twine.
Despite playing a man down, the Knights continued to create in the offensive third, ultimately leading to a Javier Lopez Sanchez one-timer on a bouncing ball in the box to produce the final 2-1 margin in the 79th minute.