— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Let’s play letter association with B and Marshall soccer.
B is for box, bicycle, breakaway, burst and back. Those words all figured in Sunday when Marshall blanked Furman, 4-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in front of 2,257 fans at Hoops Family Field/Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex.
The first B pertained to the 18-yard box where Furman got whistled for a hand ball, which became official after a video assisted review, and set up a penalty kick for Linker Rodrigues dos Santos. He converted his first PK of the year at 21:46 for a 1-0 lead for the Thundering Herd
The second B is for bicycle kick, which Haruhi Taneda executed to perfection as he sent a shot home at 39:09 for a 2-0 lead — much to the delight of the Thundering Herd faithful.
TANEDA WITH THE BIKE! 🚲#NCAASoccer #SCTop10 x 🎥 ESPN+ / @HerdMSoccer pic.twitter.com/vkta5lbCGp
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) November 24, 2024
Rodrigues dos Santos scored again at 39:59 for a 3-0 lead.
Then comes the third B for a breakaway goal by Tarik Pannholzer at 40:44 for a 4-0 advantage over a rattled Furman team. He came in alone on goal, got the keeper to commit and then slid a shot into the left side of the goal.
The fourth B is for the three-goal burst in 1:44. That stood up in half two for the win.
The fifth B for back. The result, coupled with No. 4 Georgetown’s 2-0 home loss to North Carolina State earlier Sunday, means the Herd will be back at Hoops Family Field for third-round action Saturday against the unseeded Wolfpack.
“Tremendous performance. We did what we needed to do,” Marshall coach Chris Grassie said. “We executed really well. I told the guys fantastic job and the result is we get a home game the next round.”
Marshall, Sun Belt Conference runner-up and ranked No. 8 nationally, is a No. 13 seed.
Furman had advanced with a win at North Carolina on penalty kicks in the first round Thursday in Chapel Hill. The Paladins came in as Southern Conference Tournament champs.
Grassie sensed the Herd was playing at a higher level of late and it showed Sunday.
“It’s the end of the season. We’re performing well, we’re just not scoring goals. We didn’t change much. We knew it would come at some point. They’ve got a great team. They won a (Southern Conference) championship and got a big tournament win on the road. They play a lot of freshmen. We knew if we play our game, get on top of them, the wave they’ve been riding, the euphoria goes away. If we kept putting pressure on, we’d score more goals. The last 10 matches showed signs. We’re peaking at the right time. We just have to keep moving forward and believing in what we’re doing.”
Grassie felt pressure created the hand ball in the box.
“You either get a foul or a hand ball,” Grassie said. “I tell the guys be dangerous in those spaces. Get in there and create pressure. It put them on their back foot. We started passing and moving in the right spaces just to get more. After the first five minutes the way we were playing I felt we were on.”
Furman coach Doug Allison admitted it was the turning point.
“It turned the game around,” Allison said. “I thought there was a handball earlier. They’re a good team, a very good team on that turf.”
Rodrigues dos Santos read Furman keeper Aaron Salinas and put the ball in the left corner. Salinas went right on the play.
“Just trying to focus and put the ball in the back of the net,” said Rodrigues dos Santos, a transfer from Memphis. “Every goal counts.”
Then came the bicycle kick for the Herd’s second goal.
“It’s supposed to be with the left (foot) and he kicks it with the right,” Rodrigues dos Santos said with a smile.
This was Furman’s fifth straight match on the road counting the regular season, Southern Conference Tournament and first round in the NCAA.
“Those three goals got us,” Allison said. “It’s disappointing. The second half we played better. I don’t know what day we left. I’m so proud of these kids and the leadership of these two (Ivan Agyaakwah and Christian Kraus). They’re the catalysts for everything we’ve done. This started last spring. We graduate 14 guys. They’re a good team. I wish them luck. I wish we could’ve gave them more of a game. The experience we’ve had on this journey has been amazing.”
Alex Bamford got the assist on Taneda’s bicycle goal. Taneda notched an assist on goal No. 2 Rodrigues dos Santos (who has a team-high 12) and Taneda and Marco Silva got credit for assists on Pannholzer’s goal.
Herd keeper Aleksa Janjic (9-0-3) got credit for another clean sheet. Marshall had 13 shots, five on goal and four got past Salinas. This is Marshall’s sixth NCAA appearance overall and fifth with a first-round bye.