Following Marshall University’s men’s soccer two wins against Loyola Marymount (4-1) and San Diego State (5-1) in California, Marshall redshirt senior goalkeeper Paulo Pita earned Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week and redshirt freshman forward Milo Yosef received Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week.

“Paulo is a good representative of the whole defense,” Head Coach Chris Grassie said. “He did a really great job over the last three matches. He didn’t have a ton to do, but he had some important saves to make, and I think that was a function of the defense in front of him, but he had a couple big saves to make in both games and it kept us ticking.”

Grassie praised Yosef for his performance over the last few matches.

“Milo, when he’s in matches, he can be unplayable. He can be unstoppable,” Grassie said. “It’s kind of like feeding the lions, Just keep feeding him and feeding him and he will get one.”

Yosef tallied two goals each in the matches, totaling his goals to 10 on the season.

“It was a nice trip, a good trip,” Yosef said. “We were quite successful. I am happy that I was successful scoring four goals in two games. It’s a nice feeling.”

Pita totaled five saves during the West Coast trip, accumulating 39 on the season.

“I feel really confident,” Pita said. “I feel like we knew it was a big challenge for us in California in terms of traveling all the time. We stepped up as a team. It was such a massive win both games. It gives us the feeling that we’re in really good shape.”

The Herd (10-1-2, 3-0-1 C-USA) continues its road game stretch and will return to the east coast to face the Wright State University Raiders on Tuesday.

Wright State enters the contest with a 6-5-1 (2-3-0 Horizon League) record. The Raiders are coming off a win against Detroit Mercy with a final score of 3-1.

“I believe we’re getting into a rhythm right now,” junior midfielder Pedro Dolabella said. “This time of the season, I think every time we play together, we’re playing a little bit better. I think if we keep this winning mentality, this hungry spirit we are, we will keep these wins going.”

After the match, the Herd will travel south to Boca Raton, Florida to face the Florida Atlantic University Owls for its fifth conference match of the season. Then, the team will make the trip to Rochester, Michigan to play the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies before returning back home to Huntington for senior day against No. 20 Kentucky.

Taylor Huddleston can be contacted at [email protected].