Bell taken in the first round; Duggan a third-round selection
More history was made by the Marshall University Men’s Soccer team on Tuesday. Sophomore forward Matthew Bell was taken in the first round with the 16th overall pick by Real Salt Lake and senior Morris Duggan was taken with the 67th overall pick in the third round by Minnesota United FC during the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. It’s second time in program history with multiple players taken in the MLS SuperDraft.
“I’m very happy for Morris and Matthew getting drafted,” Herd men’s soccer head coach Chris Grassie said. “But we will see over the next few days what their situations work out to be regarding contracts. I know Morris already has a good professional contract with an exciting Rhode Island USL championship franchise, so it would take a better situation than that at Minnesota for him to go there.”
Bell became the highest draft pick along with becoming the second first round pick in program history. The Kingston, Jamaica, native also became the highest pick in Sun Belt Conference history.
“Matthew being the highest pick in program history is another honor for him in a standout year,” Grassie said about Bell’s season. “The draft can be a bit random to be honest, as this is a game of opinions. Matthew had the talent to justify a number one draft pick, but it’s all about different club’s opinions, based on their own networks. Still, I know the coaches at RSL did a great job and did a lot of due diligence before making the pick, and I’m much more excited that he is landing in a situation like that, where they know about and value him, than in a higher number of pick, where they didn’t value him as much.”
Bell was named the SBC Offensive and Player of the Year as he tallied a single-season program record 12 assists and 10 goals for 32 points. Bell, a first-team all-conference honoree, became just the second player in program history to register multiple seasons of 10 or more goals and is the only player in program history to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a season. Bell was also named a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist and a United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-American.
Duggan captained and anchored a defense that had the most shutouts with 11 during the season to earn the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference honors. The senior played over 1,200 minutes on the backline, tallied a pair of goals during the season with one at Georgia Southern (Oct. 1) and one at then-No. 5 WVU (Oct. 18). The German defender also registered a pair of assists with one each against High Point (Sept. 8) and Coastal Carolina (Oct. 13). Duggan was also named a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist USC First-Team All-American with Bell.
“At Marshall, we always talk to our guys about having long, fulfilling pro careers, not how high they go in the draft,” Grassie said.
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**Press release from Marshall University – HERDZONE – 12/19/2023 8:49:00 PM | Men’s Soccer