HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall University out-shot Southern Methodist University, 18-11, but fell short to the Mustangs 3-2 in the Thundering Herd’s Conference USA women’s soccer home opener at Sam Hood Field, Friday evening.

With the loss, the Herd falls to 4-5-4 overall, 2-3-0 in conference, while the Mustangs improve to 5-7-1 on the season, 3-2-0 in league play.

“We have to have 90 minutes of solid soccer in conference play to win,” Marshall’s interim head coach Kevin Long said. “The times we didn’t play well really cost us tonight.”

SMU took to the board first with Sarah Benchaita notching her first goal of the season from a Kaitlyn Eidson pass in the 41st minute.

Kim Peabody then scrapped the rebound off a corner kick past Liz Orton (Fort Collins, Colo.) for her first goal of the season to put the Mustangs up 2-0 in the 79th minute.

In the 82nd minute, Dylan Jordan dribbled past the Herd’s defense and drilled her second goal of the season in the right back corner of the net, giving the Mustangs a 3-0 cushion.

Marshall would begin its rally as Molly Snead (Cincinnati, Ohio) placed her fourth goal of the season in the left corner of the net. Forward Erika Duncan (Easthaven, Scotland) assisted in the 85th minute goal. Snead finished with four shots, two on goal.

Duncan beat the backline to score the Herd’s final goal in the 88th minute. The sophomore forward notched her seventh goal of the season in the bottom right of the net, on a pass from Snead. Duncan ended the match with two shots, one on goal.

“The last eight minutes we had the urgency to win but that urgency needs to be present during the full 90 minutes to win,” Coach Long continued. “We only had urgency to play when we desired it tonight.”

The Mustangs extended its all-time series lead over the Herd to 3-0, dating back to 2005.

Sophomore forward Missy Gordon (Carmel, Ind.) also added three shots, two on goal, in the losing effort.

Marshall took seven shots on goal, while SMU had five.

Co-captain Orton tallied two saves, while SMU’s Courtney Webb registered five.

This weekend marks Marshall’s inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness matches, where the program will be recognizing the devastating disease by holding a Kicks Against Breast Cancer auction. The auction includes pink jerseys the players wore tonight and will be wearing during Sunday’s contests against the University of Tulsa. For more information about the auction and to place a bid, visit the women’s soccer page at herdzone.com.

“We let this one slip by us tonight,” Coach Long added. “We hope to come back and play aggressive Sunday.”

The Herd will play host to Tulsa to continue its four-match home stand at Sam Hood Field, with kick-off set for 11 a.m. The Golden Hurricane lead the all-time series with Marshall, 2-0, which dates back to 2005. In the most recent meeting, Tulsa took a 3-1 decision over the Herd at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium in 2006.

The Golden Hurricane enters Sunday’s match 6-6-2 overall, 1-3-1 in conference play after falling to East Carolina, 1-0 in double overtime, Friday evening in Greenville, N.C.