Boone, N.C. – In the season-opener for the 34^th season of Marshall men’s soccer, the Thundering Herd (0-0-1) finished with a scoreless draw against Appalachian State (0-0-1) in a contest that went into overtime at Appalachian State Soccer Stadium on Friday night.

“It was just a hard fought match and I thought we had a lot of good chances, but so did they,” said Marshall head coach Bob Gray. “I felt like we had better possession and statistically outplayed them, but it was just one of those games where neither team could score. For us, it is not a bad result on the road with the young team that we have.”

Through the first half of play, Marshall attacked the opposing goalie with numerous shots from around the box to garner good scoring chances. Trevor Starcher and Jahvon Allison each had strong looks of their own while looking to find the back of the net.

Zach Hunter made his presence felt all over the pitch throughout the night as he continued to play hard while looking to provide a spark for the Herd offense.

Danny Sellitti got the start in goal for Marshall with the junior transfer making his debut in kelly green. Selitti played a solid game in goal for the Herd to provide a reputable anchor for the back end of the defense.

At the conclusion of 90 minutes, Marshall recorded more shots (14-10), corners (8-6) and shots on goal (6-3) than the Mountaineers, but were unable to place a ball in the back of the net.

With the game still tied, the two squads geared up for overtime with the Herd hoping to collect the three points that come with a victory.

In the overtime period, Appalachian State looked to break the scoreless draw on its home field, but Selitti and the Herd defense refused to allow a goal to keep the score at 0-0 until the final whistle.

“We feel like we need to win all of our games at home so obviously we want to beat somebody if possible on the road,” Gray explained. “The youth and inexperience showed a little bit today and overall it was a pretty good effort for our team.”

The result of a draw to open the 2013 season marked the second-straight year that Marshall has collected a point in the season

opener. The Herd opened 2012 with a 2-0 victory against Wright State.

 

With the addition of Friday’s tie, Marshall now trails the Mountaineers 3-16-4 through 23 meetings in the all-time series.

The Herd will stay on the road for the second leg of its trip for a contest with Davidson (0-0-1) on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are also coming off an overtime draw as Davidson recorded a 1-1 tie with Navy on Friday night.

In-game Twitter updates (@HerdMSoccer), results and a recap from the day’s action will be available at www.HerdZone.com.