Herd Runs Rampant on Winthrop

September 18, 2011

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.- The Thundering Herd men’s soccer team capped off a successful weekend with a dominant 4-0 victory over the visiting Winthrop Eagles on Sunday afternoon at Sam Hood Field. Junior forward Tom Jackson scored three goals, and senior forward Carl Munday added another, as Marshall won its third straight game to move to 3-4 on the season.

The win is Marshall’s third in a row, dating back to the 1-0 victory at Michigan State a week ago and on the other side of Friday night’s 3-1 scalp of Oakland University. For Jackson, the hattrick means he has already surpassed his 2010 season total of three goals, and that he is now the leading scorer on the Herd with four goals this year.

Indeed, the New Zealand native was active throughout the game, slotting home Marshall’s first goal from a Matt Risher cross some 20 minutes in, and adding two more – including a penalty kick for the 2-0 lead – in the second half.

Freshman Jahvon Allison, who starred in Friday night’s 3-1 win over Oakland with both a goal and an assist, also found his way onto the stat sheet this game with an assist to Jackson for the third goal of the game. The Jamaican midfielder’s well-paced through-ball set Jackson free, and the striker made no mistake in claiming his hattrick with a neatly placed finish.

Senior striker Carl Munday also found his way into the action late on, finishing an Anthony Virgara cross for a 4-0 lead. Jackson – having just come back into the game as a substitute – started the play by dribbling through midfield and slotting a ball to the onrushing Virgara. The sophomore winger’s cross then found the feet of Munday, who slammed the ball beyond the reach of Winthrop goalkeeper Patrick Walsh to put the game beyond doubt.

Despite posting a similar 13 shots to Marshall’s 14, Winthrop either failed to make them count, or failed to put them past the reach of the defending Conference USA Defender of the Year, Daniel Withrow, who finished the game with five saves. He now has two shutouts on the year.

“Tom is an outstanding player,” said Head Coach Bob Gray. “We’ve known that all along and after trying to do too much earlier in the year, he is coming into his own and starting to breakout into a real leader on both the field and stat sheet. This result should bode well for us going forward.”

The Herd will now travel to Miami, Fla., this Friday for its 7:00 p.m., Conference USA opener against Florida International. The team will then remain in Florida over the weekend to play Florida Atlantic at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. Marshall will return home for its second Conference USA game of the season when its hosts Memphis on October 1, at 7:00 p.m.

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