— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — What would have been a highly-anticipated match between in-state rivals Marshall and West Virginia for a Sun Belt Tournament championship won’t take place.
South Carolina, which had lost 10 straight matches to the Thundering Herd, prevented that Wednesday night.
The Gamecocks recovered from a 3-0 halftime deficit to catch Marshall and force overtime in a semifinal at Hoops Family Field/Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex, and No. 6 seed South Carolina ended the match quickly in overtime when Omar Robbana put home a goal home at 91:09 for a 4-3 victory against the Herd that left a crowd of 2,009 in disbelief.
92′ | Comeback complete!!! Omar Robbana with the game-winner in overtime!
USC 4 | 3 MU
🎥 https://t.co/AZf9CtGAxc
#WEareCarolina https://t.co/W2bpYHAdjL— South Carolina Men’s Soccer (@GamecockMSoccer) November 12, 2026
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Gamecocks coach Tony Annan said. “We had some really hard conversations at halftime. We got a reaction from the whole squad. Unbelievable.”
Tenth-ranked and No. 2 seed Marshall took advantage of some long passes to take the 3-0 lead. Ramado Pierre-Louis scored at the 9-minute mark, Joao Roberto at 39:42 and Stan Klaver at 43:37 to leave the visitors with what looked to almost be an insurmountable deficit.
Annan said the Gamecocks got what they deserved in the first 45 minutes.
“We deserved to be down 3-0 the way we played the first half,” he said. “We had a plan of playing and the way we defended they deserved the three goals. You pivot. You always have to have a plan B. We had a hard conversation at half. We came out and got rewarded. We got three in the second half. Going into OT, I had the belief the boys could do it again.”
“This group has done some things that have not been done in 20-30 years at South Carolina. Set records all season. So remarkable this group of lads. The unity among them shows on the pitch. When the going got tough, they got going.”
Robbana scored his first goal at 63:05 to give the Gamecocks life. Loic Sany Kong, who played for Marshall last year before transferring to USC, assisted his team’s first goal. A few moments earlier, he had hit the post on a shot.
Just over 2 minutes later, Daniel Lang scored to make it 3-2.
More cause for concern came at 77:01 when Angel Lopez scored to complete the rally. Mika Habel made a long throw-in and Lopez got a shot over Marshall keeper Alan Horrocks.
In the 87th minute, it appeared the Herd might escape as Roberto got in free, but Gamecocks keeper Noah Schweidweiler recorded the save of the night.
Then Robbana produced the Golden Goal to put the Gamecocks into the title match Sunday at West Virginia, which topped Coastal Carolina, 1-0, in the other semifinal.
“A remarkable performance against a very, very good Marshall team,” Annan said. “Give credit to Marshall for the way they play football. They’re an excellent team. In the second half we took over the game. The boys reacted the way I wanted them to.”
Herd head coach Chris Grassie said adjustments by the Gamecocks in the second half caused problems for his group.
“I consider that a very easy, comfortable first half,” Grassie said. “Then in the second they threw a lot of numbers forward. We had a chance to counter and put the game away. You have to do that in this situation. You throw it forward, get some lucky bounces and the ball goes to the man at the back end. They go man in the second half, press to change the momentum of the game. We didn’t respond well.”
For Annan, this was his first win over the Herd in his six seasons.
“It’s big for me,” he said. “I have massive respect for Chris Grassie. We share a lot. I have a lot of confidence in who he is and what he goes. I’ve took some lickings on this ground the last three years. To come here and take one back is pretty special. Keep progressing, keep moving forward.”
South Carolina reached its first conference championship game since 2014 when it competed in Conference USA.
USC midfielder Mika Habel certainly enjoyed this moment. At one point this season, the Gamecocks were ranked No. 1 in the nation before a late-season slide.
“It’s super special,” he said. “Sometimes things didn’t go right. Those conversations at the half went the right way. We had nothing to lose. The coaching staff does what it has to do. They got three the first half. We can go out and score three. This means everything. We score the first one and the belief goes up. We responded together.”
Grassie and his players are left pondering what went wrong after halftime.
“Sometimes these things happen,” he said. “We create three or four chances to get the fourth goal and put the game away. We didn’t take it and at the end we didn’t defend our lines.
“You go from 3-0 to 3-3 and OT. You have to be on the counter attack. They throw so many numbers forward. We kept the ball in plan backwards, instead you should go forward. We need to finish. Create chances and capitalize.”
Grassie said he still remained upbeat going into extra time.
“It was an emotional swing,” he said. “Overtime gave us a chance to regroup. Get the ball to their weapon No .6 (Habel) and he makes things happen. I thought we’d find a way. We didn’t deal with the cross there. I thought we’d be fine. I always think that way.”
Now the Herd plays the waiting game to learn its NCAA Tournament fate Monday when the 48-team field is revealed.