— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Agustin Iusem can now be found in the Marshall soccer stats.
The freshman made his first college shot memorable as he found the net in the 78th minute to lift the short-handed Thundering Herd past Wright State, 1-0, Tuesday night at Hoops Family Field. Jan Erik-Leinhos set up Iusem, who had spent nearly all his time with the jayvee team.
No. 3 Marshall took the field minus four of its leading players due to accumulation of yellow cards. Sitting out were leading scorer Pedro Dolabella, Milo Josef, Max Schneider and Gabriel Alves.
Even with a makeshift lineup, the Thundering Herd had the big edge in shots just as it did in Saturday’s 1-0 double-overtime win over UAB.
“We’re missing four guys. It’s a chance to see new guys step up and play,” Herd coach Chris Grassie said. “It took a while to establish rhythm with the new guys and subs. New relationships. It’s a great testament to our future. It shows how deep our squad is.”
Marshall (9-1-3, 3-0-2 Conference USA) extended its winning streak to five and is 4-0-3 at home now. It has outscored opponents, 28-10.
Wright State, a member of the Horizon League, falls to 4-8-1 with its third straight loss.
Marshall finished with 14 shots and forced Raiders’ keeper Sebastien Jiminez to make five saves. Wright State had five shots and Semmle had to make just two saves.
Grassie said Iusem’s score goes down as a feel-good story, one the 1,095 fans enjoyed.
“I can see something in his future,” Grassie said. “He showed he can handle it at this level.”
Marshall, which won its first NCAA championship in May, extended its program record for scoreless time to 733:58. The last team to score was West Virginia in a 2-2 double overtime draw back on Sept. 17.
“It’s more of a challenge for us,” the Herd’s Nathan Dossantos said about the shutout streak and having four top players sidelined. “We’ve got to be professional and do it. We treat every game as a final.”
The shutout extends the program record to seven straight. With the seven clean sheets, goalkeeper Oliver Semmle has 18 for his career. The Herd’s school-record for scoreless minutes rose to 733:58.
Despite dominating the statistics, the Herd didn’t press.
“We came out, attacked more,” Grassie said. “Not frustrated. Guys come off the bench and do the job. Makes it difficult now to pick a starting lineup.”
Marshall’s next match is Saturday at Charlotte. Start time is 6 p.m. The four players who sat out will be able to play.
The Herd will enter the match in second place in C-USA with 11 points. No. 18 FIU moved into first with 13 points thanks to its 2-1 win over Coastal Carolina on Tuesday night. Coastal Carolina has 10 points.