Indiana and Marshall will meet for the first time with everything on the line.
The Hoosiers will play for their ninth national championship on Monday evening in North Carolina, while the Thundering Herd arrive with a much different history. Marshall will be playing in their first ever national championship after advancing through North Carolina by way of a 1-0 decision in their College Cup semifinal match.
For its part, Indiana shutout the hottest offensive team remaining in the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh in their own semifinal match.
Marshall has knocked off No. 1 seed Clemson, defending national champion Georgetown, and traditional power North Carolina to reach the title contest. The Thundering Herd are vying to become the first unseeded team to win the title since Santa Clara in 2006.
10th-ranked Marshall holds a record of 12-2-3 and won the Conference USA regular season title for the second-straight season. The Herd are led by junior midfielder Vitor Dias. The Conference USA Player of the Year posted team highs in both goals (6) and assists (6). Senior forward Jamil Roberts secured four goals, including the winner over North Carolina, and added five assists this season.
Junior keeper Oliver Semmle, the Conference USA Golden Glove Award winner, surrendered just seven goals (0.403 GAA) while starting 16-of-17 matches played this season. He has 25 saves (0.781 save percentage) to go along with nine shutouts. He allowed more than one goal in just one match this season.
The Hoosiers come into the national championship on a roll, having not suffered a loss in 12-straight matches, the program’s longest streak without a loss since the 2018 season.
IU last won a national title in 2012. The Hoosiers most recently went to the title match in 2017 but fell to Stanford in double overtime.
MATCH ESSENTIALS
- No. 2-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (12-1-2) vs. No. 10-ranked Marshall Thundering Herd (12-2-3)
- 2020 NCAA College Cup National Championship
- 8 p.m. ET on Monday
- Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
- The match will be televised on ESPN2
- Tickets
The time is now.#CollegeCup | #IUMS pic.twitter.com/qz6rQqYCN3
— Indiana Men's Soccer (@IndianaMSOC) May 17, 2021
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