This season could be considered a tale of two halves, as a late surge to qualify for the Sun Belt tournament proved this team had a lot of heart. 

After some early season ties and a win against Morehead State, the rude awakening of the Sun Belt level of competition washed over the Herd. Winning only one of the first seven conference matchups, it was quickly discovered that Marshall had to step up its game to turn the season around. A three-game skid in the middle of the 2022 campaign that featured not one goal from Marshall made it look like all hope was gone. 

Despite the struggles of the first half of the season, there was chemistry in the locker room. Big-time performances from goalkeeper Alexis Wolgemuth and leading scorer Morgan White kept this resilient team afloat. It was not quite an individual effort in the slightest. Various unspoken heroes had much to do with pushing this team into the conference tournament. Losing only one of the last four regular season matches, a postseason appearance on the pitch was made possible. 

A shocking first-round upset over the seventh-seeded Mountaineers of Appalachian State led to a date with the three-time defending conference champions, South Alabama. After a hard-fought game to the end in overtime, Marshall met its match and concluded its season with a heartbreaker. Not everything about this season weighed on that overtime loss, luckily. The most conference points since 2018 and a valiant effort late in the year made head coach Micheal Swan’s squad the lovable underdog of the Sun Belt. 

The future looks bright, especially to coach Swan, who mentioned, “When you reflect on the season, the growth they’ve shown excites you about future seasons.” in his final post-game interview of the year. Marshall’s sophomore season in the ever-competitive Sun Belt next year will have a lot going for it. In 2022, Marshall finished 4-10-5, an admirable debut effort from a budding women’s soccer program.