CARY, N.C. – 13-seeded Marshall falls to Vermont 2-1 in overtime of the NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup Final.
The Herd finishes its season with a 15-2-7 record, 45 total goals and 41 assists for 131 total points.
Fast and physical defense played the biggest role in the first half, leading to both teams being held scoreless. The Herd outshot the Catamounts 5-4, but the Catamounts had two shots on goals whereas Marshall had none.
Marshall goalie Aleska Janjic’s poise between the sticks was on full display in the first half, stopping Vermont’s best scoring chance which came in the 21st minute. Charging 3-on-1 after the ball was deflected in their favor, Vermont would take the open shot at the bottom corner of the net, but Janjic would make the stop for the Herd.
Needing an offensive spark in the second half, Marshall midfielder Alexander Stjernegaard would find the perfect opportunity for a shot on goal. As the teams battled inside the box, Stjernegaard would find an opening and fire into the top right corner, but was met by Vermont goalie Niklas Herceg who made the leaping stop, keeping things scoreless but giving the Herd its best look of the match.
The Herd continued to create noise in front of the Vermont goal, causing a burst of energy in the crowd. In the 67th minute, Rai Pinto took a shot from the right side which Vermont’s goalkeeper would deflect into the path of Tarik Pannholzer, who buried it into the back of the net and gave the Herd the 1-0 lead.
Vermont would respond in the 80th minute with a goal of their own as Marcell Papp would roll one past Janjic into the bottom left of the goal and even the score at one a piece.
The 1-1 tie would hold for the remaining 10 minutes of regulation, sending the match into overtime.
Midway through overtime Vermont would find themselves in a one-on-one situation. The Catamounts sent a ball deep down field and into the pocket of forward Maximilian Kissel who would get past the Marshall defender’s tackle attempt and win the one-on-one battle with Janjic to score the winning goal for Vermont.
Pannholzer and midfielder Taimu Okiyoshi were named to the All-Tournament team, adding to the long list of post season honors for Marshall.
Pannholzer scored three goal during the season, all of which came in the final three games of the NCAA tournament, providing a spark for the Herd. Okiyoshi started in all 24 matches for Marshall, proving to be an anchor while also being named an All-Sun Belt Conference First-Team selection, United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First-Team and an All-American.