Marshall Olympic sports updates and upcoming contests this week
Olympic Sports Action This Week
Men’s Soccer
Aug. 18 PITT (exhibition) Trace Fork, W.Va. LOST 3-1
Women’s Soccer
Aug. 17 BALL ST. Huntington H.S. WON 3-1
Aug. 18 at James Madison Harrisonburg, Va. 7 p.m.
Volleyball
Aug. 21 Green-White Scrimmage Henderson Center 6:45 p.m.
Volleyball wrapping up preseason with Green-White scrimmages
HUNTINGTON — Marshall volleyball will close out preseason training with two Green and White scrimmages scheduled for August 17 and 21.
Both matches are set to have warm-ups start at 6 p.m. and gameplay begin at 6:45 p.m. The scrimmages are open to the public, so fans are welcome to cheer on the Thundering Herd in anticipation for the upcoming season.
Marshall will begin the 2012 season by hosting the Thunder Invitational, August 24-25.
The Herd will play Wright St. at 7 p.m. Friday, IUPUI at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and 7:30 p.m. will meet the Miami-Oh. RedHawks.
The other teams meet each other as well during the weekend.
Men’s soccer posts 2-2 draw in preseason opener
RIO GRANDE, Ohio — The Marshall University men’s soccer team travelled to the University of Rio Grande on Wednesday afternoon for its first match of the 2012 preseason and came away with a 2-2 draw courtesy of strikes by senior Eddy Prugh and freshman Andrew Ferguson.
The match was always expected to be a test for the Thundering Herd, with the Red Storm having advanced all the way to the quarterfinals in last season’s NAIA National Tournament. Yet even against such stern opposition, and with just one week of practice under its belt, the Herd managed to generate plenty of offense on the road. Senior forward Eddy Prugh and freshman forward Andrew Ferguson were the scorers of the two goals, adding early marks to their preseason tallies.
“We played well overall,” said Head Coach Bob Gray after the match.
“I was pleased with the effort of the new players, especially against one of the best small-college teams in the nation in Rio Grande.
“We’re now looking forward to the Pittsburgh scrimmage this weekend.”
The 2-2 draw already represents an improvement of sorts for the Herd, who last fall went 0-2 in the preseason en route to losing the opening four matches of regular season play.
The team will now return home with just two days of recovery and practice preceding Saturday’s 2:00 p.m. scrimmage against Pittsburgh in Charleston, W.Va.
The match will be the final preseason game for Marshall before it opens the 2012 regular season against Wright State on August 24.
Softball’s Williams honored as NPF Offensive Player of the Week
HUNTINGTON — Current Marshall softball assistant coach Amanda Williams has been named National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) offensive player of the week, the league announced Tuesday.
The award, which was for games played between Monday. August 6 and Sunday, August 12, is Williams’ first such honor this season.
Currently playing for the Chicago Bandits, the Thundering Herd’s fifth year assistant had a six hit week in the four games she played.
Her big weekend at the dish included seven runs batted in, including five on Sunday in the second game of a doubleheader versus Akron.
The former MU starting center fielder also smacked a home run in Sunday’s first game.
She also extended her hit streak to eight games.
The seven year veteran of the NPF is playing her third season with the Bandits. She along with her squad is the defending league champions.
The NPF enters its final weekend of play before beginning the league championship series on Thursday, August 23 in Rosemont, Ill. at the Bandits home stadium.
The Bandits have secured the second seed in the championship series.
In the best-of-three series, the Bandits will face off against the number three seed which will either be the Akron Racers or the Carolina Diamonds, with the first game scheduled for Thursday, August 23 at 6:00 p.m.
Game two of their series will take place on Friday, August 24 at 8:30 p.m. If game three is necessary, it will be played on Saturday, August 25 at 1:30 p.m.
Diamonds have on their roster, former four year All-American for the Herd, Rachel Folden.
Swimming and Diving 2012-13 Schedule Set for Coach Bill Tramel's first season
HUNTINGTON — Swimming and Diving will begin its 2012-13 season by hosting the second annual West Virginia State Games as its schedule was announced Friday for the upcoming year.
First year head coach Bill Tramel will welcome six state schools to Frederick A. Fitch Natatorium for the West Virginia games on October 12 and 13, including West Virginia, the inaugural event champions.
The Thundering Herd will have four consecutive home events to begin the season. After the two day WV games, the first home meet for Tramel and his squad will be versus Youngstown State on October 19.
Radford will head to Huntington on November 3. Marshall is a combined 20-0 against the two regional rivals in dual meets. Vanderbilt comes to Fitch Natatorium on November 10 to conclude the season opening home stretch.
After Thanksgiving, Tramel will take his ladies to Oxford, Ohio for the Miami University Invitational. The three day event runs from Thursday, November 29 to Saturday December 1.
The 2013 portion of the Herd’s schedule starts in Indianapolis, Indiana for a quad-meet with Ball State, Xavier and host IUPUI. Marshall hosts Ohio in its final home meet of the year on January 22.
The Herd will travel to Liberty January 26, looking to avenge a six point loss last. A meet at Duquesne on February 2 will be the final regular season event of the year.
Houston, Texas will host the Conference USA Championships February 20-23. The NCAA Zone A Diving Championships are in Piscataway, NJ March 15-17, while the NCAA Championships run from March 21-23 in Indianapolis, Ind.
Tramel’s first season comes on the heels of a 2011-12 season in which Marshall put together its best season record wise since joining C-USA.
A seven win season included outstanding performances from swimmers Kacey Preun, Sarah Kay and diver Lauren Rone, a 2012 NCAA Zone Diving Championship participant. All four ladies will return to the water this season.
Women’s golf 2012-13 schedule set
Date Event Site/Course
Fall 2012
Sept. 1 Morehead State, Eastern Ky., Marshall Huntington/Guyan G&CC
Sept. 16-18 Dale McNamara Invitational Broken Arrow, Okla./GC of Okla.
Sept. 21-23 Cardinal Classic Yorktown, Ind./Players Club
Oct. 7-9 Lady Pirate Invitational Greenville (N.C.) CC
Oct. 21-23 Memphis Fall Invitational Germantown, Tenn./Ridgeway CC
Spring 2013
March 10-12 Lady Eagle Invitational Hattiesburg (Miss.) CC
March 16-19 C&F Bank Intercollegiate Williamsburg, Va./Kingsmill Resort
April 21-24 C-USA Championship Gulf Shores, Ala./Peninsula GC
May 8-11 NCAA Regionals TBA
May 20-24 NCAA Championship Athens, Ga./Univ. of Georgia CC
