Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall forward Isaiah Argueta dribbles around a defender during a Big South Conference boys soccer game against Fairmont on Thursday in Marshall.

MARSHALL — In a game where strong winds carried the ball across the field and spectators’ bags out of their seats, the Marshall boys soccer team prevailed despite the elements with a 3-2 win over Fairmont on Thursday.

“[Fairmont] came out and played tough. They didn’t want to come on a far trip for no reason, they pressured well and defended well,” Marshall head coach Tony Correa said, adding that it means the team needs to pass and shoot the ball harder and work to keep possession more secure. “It’s not going to be easy when we’re going against the wind ever… It’s going to be like [playing on] an incline… The biggest thing is, these guys just have to learn from the ones we didn’t make and from the goals we let in.”

The Tigers had the wind at their backs in the first half and dominated possession as a result. Marshall fired off eight shots on goal before the break while limiting Fairmont to three.

Despite the possession dominance, it wasn’t until the 26th minute that the Tigers were able to get on the scoreboard. Eighth grader Clay Clay intercepted a goal kick 25 yards out and quickly shot the ball. Fairmont keeper Brody Deuel got a finger on the ball, but couldn’t deflect it enough as it banged off the middle of the right post and into the back of the net for the go-ahead goal.

Deuel put together a valiant effort in goal despite the loss. He finished the night with 11 saves, seven of which came in the first half, to keep the Cardinals within striking distance.

“He definitely kept us in the game. He was very calm and confident throughout the first half, and it showed,” Fairmont head coach Brady Meyer said. “He’s becoming more and more of a leader back there, and that’s what we expect from him and that’s what he was doing today.”

While Marshall carried a 1-0 lead into halftime, Fairmont barely gave the Tigers time to step back on the pitch before scoring the equalizer in the second half. It took just five seconds for Angel Sanchez to capitalize on switching sides and boot a wind-aided screamer from midfield into the top of the net to tie up the match.

“That was great. I haven’t really talked to him about it yet, but you could tell he saw something right away because he stepped up like, ‘Let me have it,'” Meyer said of Sanchez. “Great heads up play, recognizing how they’re setting up. Having guys like that is awesome.”

Fairmont appeared to have a glimpse of momentum after the goal, and with the wind at their back and Marshall having to make a goalkeeper change at halftime due to injury, the stage was set for the Cardinals to make a comeback.

Yet, Marshall didn’t give the visitors a chance. Karston Springborg recovered a deflection in close before sending it in to give Marshall its lead back in the 54th minute, and Sabino Us dribbled the ball over to the center of the box before scoring another goal to make it 3-1 in the 65th minute.

Cornell Jameson made the start in goal for Marshall, coming up with three first-half saves before leaving due to an upper-body injury. In relief, Caden Hess tallied one save in his first action since the Tigers’ season debut.

Correa gave credit to Sanchez for netting a quality goal on the midfield shot, adding that the Tigers will continue to work with Hess in terms of positioning and helping him reach his potential.

Fairmont was awarded a penalty kick in the 70th minute after Marshall was charged with a foul in the corner of the box. Luis Martin capitalized by sending the shot into the lower left corner of the net, cutting the deficit in half, but Fairmont was unable to build the momentum needed for an equalizer in the final 10 minutes from there.

Marshall gets back above .500 on the year with the win, improving to 4-3. The Tigers will look to continue improving on that mark when they host Southwest Minnesota Christian (1-3-0) on Monday at 7 p.m.

While Fairmont falls to 1-4 with the loss, the Cardinals had positives to take away from the match. Fairmont’s 3-9-3 record last year featured two losses to Marshall by an aggregate score of 12-0. This time around, the Cardinals played the Tigers tight.

“One thing we were talking about here after the game is how proud we are of how they’ve progressed since the beginning of the year already,” Meyer said. “We knew that this was a tough team, and we brought the energy, brought the discipline that we’ve been working on.”

Fairmont will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when they head out on the road for a matchup against Cannon Falls (3-1-1) at 1 p.m.