— By David Walsh
Marshall earned nine corner kicks in the first half against Elon in first-round NCAA Tournament play Thursday night at Rudd Field in Elon, N.C.
The Thundering Herd took their ninth in the 44th minute and converted as Mohammed Seidu took a pass from Gabriel Alves and headed the ball into the top right corner of the goal for his first goal this season.
Marshall kept Elon at bay in the second half and earned the win, 1-0, to end the season for the Phoenix (11-5-3).
Marshall, ranked No. 9 nationally, advances to the second round Sunday against the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Start time at Klockner Stadium is 1 p.m. The Cavaliers are seeded No. 4 in the tournament.
Marshall (11-3-3) is in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year.
Early in the match, Elon’s Mason Duval slid into Herd goalkeeper Oliver Semmle while trying to run down a ball. Semmle appeared to get in the face, stayed down a bit and then got up and went the distance. He stopped three shots for his sixth clean sheet of the season, including a key save in the 60th minute to preserve the shutout.
Late in the first half, Phoenix keeper Ryan Bilichuk punched the ball to the right of the goal on a free kick by Milo Josef just outside the 18-yard box. Bilichuk had two saves.
Virginia comes in off a loss to Syracuse in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The teams tied 2-2 after regulation and overtime, then the Orange prevailed in penalty kicks, 5-3.