BY EJ HOLLAND
Associate Sports Editor
The No. 8 SMU men’s soccer team defeated Conference USA foe Marshall 2-1 in overtime Sunday night at Westcott Field to move to 11-1-0 in the season and 3-1 in Conference USA action.
“It was a tough one,” SMU head coach Tim McClements said. “We feel very fortunate to come away with the victory. We played very hard, but so did Marshall, and it’s just a typical conference game.”
Freshman forward Juan Castillo began the scoring with his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 25th minute.
Junior midfielder Arthur Ivo dished the ball to Castillo who blasted a shot from 20 yards out into the far upper 90.
The Marshall Thundering Herd responded with a goal of their own in the 40th minute. Forward Tom Jackson launched the ball into the goal box on a throw-in, and midfielder Diego Ayala connected on a header into the goal for the equalizer, tying the game at 1-1 heading into halftime.
“Marshall — give our hat off to them — because they put in a really good shift,” McClements said. “They scored a goal on a set piece, a throw in, that we’d been working all week to prevent.”
The second half saw both teams trying to take control of the game and score the go-ahead goal, but neither could do so.
SMU senior defender Leone Cruz received his second yellow card of the match in the 80th minute, forcing a red card which left the Mustangs down a man for the final 15 minutes of the game. Cruz picked up his first yellow card in the 31st minute and will have to sit out of SMU’s next game.
Marshall took advantage of SMU, playing with only 10 men, as midfielder Mat Butler fired a shot on the goal just five minutes later, but Mustang goalkeeper Craig Hill batted the ball over the crossbar to preserve the tie and force overtime.
Hill finished the night with five saves for the Mustangs.
“We got a guy [Cruz] red-carded, and it just shows our persistence and our depth, being able to play a man down and create a quality opportunity to finish the game,” McClements said.
Just five minutes into overtime, SMU freshman forward Zach Barnes netted the game-winner. Freshman midfielder Robbie Derschang faked out a few Marshall defenders in the left side of the box before crossing the ball to Barnes, who headed in the ball for the win. The goal was Barnes’ fourth of the season and second game-winner.
“It was a great service, and he [Barnes] worked so hard and deserved the goal,” McClements said. “We’re happy for him and the whole team.”
SMU will host No. 5 Tulsa on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in an epic Conference USA battle at Westcott Field.
“The drama of playing Tulsa will take care of itself,” McClements said. “It’s going to be a barnburner, and we’re really excited to play them.”
