HUNTINGTON, W.V. — Adem Arous scored his first NCAA goal, Kolby Sessions made five saves, and Landon Christiansen turned in a volley off a defender as Utah Valley secured its first-ever ranked road win on Friday, toppling the No. 20/12 Marshall Thundering Herd, 2-1.
The win was the Wolverines' first against a ranked team away from home in 10 tries, as UVU entered Friday's match 0-7-2 all-time against United Soccer Coaches Top 25 teams and winless in their last 13 overall dating back to August 25, 2017 against Akron.
"It wasn't pretty, but we're happy getting the result on the road against a Top 25 team," said head coach Michael Chesler. "It's all about preparation for the Big West and NCAA Tournament. I don't want to take anything away from this, it's incredible, but it's prepping us for those moments down the road."
The Wolverines did it against one of the toughest teams in the country on their home turf. Entering Friday's match, Marshall hadn't lost a home regular season game in 1,056 days since Oct. 22, 2023 against Kentucky, and had lost just 14 times total at Hoops Family Field under 10th-year head coach Chris Grassie.
The Wolverines withstood steady pressure from the Herd all night long, as Marshall held a 20-9 advantage in total shots and an 8-3 edge on target. In addition to the five saves by Sessions, the Wolverine defense had a pair of goal line clearances from Toke Amtrup and Jeremie Kuelo.
The first of those goal line clearances came early on in the sixth minute. Francisco Guimaraes' initial shot was parried away by Sessions but right into the path of Josh Nugent, whose follow-up went right at Amtrup in the wide-open net. Sessions made another save just moments later in the eighth minute on a more tame effort by Joao Alves.
Utah Valley struck first just inside the 11th minute on some brilliant passing. Mason Abdella fed a perfectly-weighted through ball to Jose Montealegre, whose shot was saved. The rebound came out to Naime Odeh, who volleyed a cross back into the mixer for Adem Arous, who headed it home.
The Thundering Herd answered back moments later in the 24th minute as Nugent found paydirt off a cross from Carl Romberg. Marshall had a prime opportunity to take the lead in the 30th minute, but Romberg's shot was cleared off the line by Kuelo.
Landon Christiansen broke the deadlock just 20 seconds into the second half. Luca Wingaa Laursen won an aerial duel with Pedro Martins then broke past a pair of defenders to the end line. Wingaa Laursen's cross was headed away but right to Christiansen, whose left-footed volley caromed off of Alves and over the diving keeper.
The Wolverine defense stood tall down the stretch, with key tackles and blocked shots all over the pitch. Sessions made a pair of saves in the final 10 minutes to secure the victory.
Utah Valley will now have just over a week off before heading to St. George on Sept. 21 for the Old Hammer Rivalry game at Utah Tech. The derby will kick off at 7 p.m. MDT, and the game will be streamed live on the Mountain West+ platform.
