Photos by Samantha Davis: Marshall senior Isaiah Argueta takes possession of the ball in the first half against Wings United Thursday night in a Big South Conference prep soccer game for the Tigers' final regular season home game. Below: Marshall junior Ali Sayid passes a defender for a shot on goal in the first half against Wings United Thursday night.

MARSHALL — Goals from five different players gave the Marshall boys soccer team a dominant 5-1 Big South Conference victory over St. James Wings United Thursday night for the Tigers’ final regular season home game on senior night.

“As cliche as it sounds, it didn’t feel real,” Marshall senior Isaiah Argueta said of Thursday potentially being the seniors’ last time playing on their home turf. “It’s a weird thing that I could maybe never play on this field again with these people. I was noticing that towards the end, and was giving my boys a little harder dap-up than usual, trying to cherish everything.”

The Tigers took a moment at halftime to recognize their eight seniors, Argueta, Karsten Springborg, Lincoln DeGroot, Sam Foster, Say Htoo, Jonathan Rueda, Elian Rueda and Sabino Us.

“Most of them [seniors] have been with us since probably they were seventh graders. I’m going to miss them a lot, because they’re good kids,” Marshall head coach Tony Correa said. “They really have shown some leadership, even though they probably didn’t expect that role. I’m happy that they stepped up.”

Marshall’s goals were scored by Argueta, Taw Taw Lo, Coby Guenther, Ali Sayid and Elijah Vanlerberghe.

“We really just have good players in every position. Good players physically and [mentally] to connect with each other,” Argueta said of Marshall’s goals coming from different players. “A lot of people can get down on themselves, but we can lift each other up.”

“That was good. That way, everyone feels confident,” Correa added. “I’m proud of everyone, they were nice kicks.”

Sophomore Caden Hess spent the night in the net for Marshall, finishing with seven saves.

The first half was back-and-forth between the Tigers and Wings United, with Marshall building a 2-1 lead at halftime after St. James scored with a minute left. Yet, Marshall took control early on in the second half to score three more goals for the cushioned victory.

Argueta got the scoring started with the first goal of the night in the 10th minute charging down the middle of the field after a foul call against the Wings. The Tigers had two close calls, but were called offsides, prior to Argueta finishing the deal.

St. James nearly tied the game up minutes later, but the Tigers’ defense was cohesive nearly the entire night and a deflection from Guenther poked it away in the attacking third.

Marshall had a string of shots within a minute of each other midway through the half with an attempt from Sayid, a corner kick and an Us shot on goal. But, Lo was able to find the back of the net 1-on-1 with the goalie in the 26th minute to put the Tigers up 2-0.

As the first half came to a close, Hess had back-to-back saves seconds within each other before St. James cut into its deficit with 1:06 to go with a goal, 2-1.

Yet, Marshall came out firing to open the second half and kept possession of the ball through the first several minutes.

“I’ve just reminded them that this week needed to be kind of our exit into the playoffs, and just turning up our focus, our passing and just getting comfortable in possession,” Correa said of the halftime momentum switch. “They [Wings United] still had a couple looks that we had to defend, so it was good that they were doing that.”

In the 45th minute, Us again came close to a goal with a feed from Argueta, but bounced the ball just slightly off the right goal post.

Argueta again had a wandering eye and found an open Guenther for Marshall’s third goal of the night in the 47th minute, giving the Tigers back some breathing room.

“The second half, we just took off,” Argueta said. “We all connected with each other and it was just [all] together.”

Sayid put the dagger on the win after breaking through up the left side of the field to isolate himself, and found the back right of the net in the 61st minute.

Yet, Marshall wasn’t settling and continued to deepen its lead with a penalty shot from Vanlerberghe after getting fouled in the attacking third. He lined himself up the middle, and the ball slipped past St. James’ goalkeeper’s fingers for a goal with just over six minutes of gameplay to go.

The Tigers held off Wings United the rest of the way, continuing to limit their offensive looks.

Marshall and Wings United had a competitive match against one another on Sept. 9, with the Tigers prevailing for a 4-3 win on the road.

“It [the win] feels a little better after we almost lost against them last time,” Argueta said. “We clutched it up … I think we played a [much] better game tonight.”

Marshall (8-6, 4-2 BSC) will finish up the regular season on a two-game road trip to St. Cloud Apollo on Tuesday at 7 p.m., with a visit to Moorhead to follow on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m. The Tigers will then await seeding for the Section 2AA Section Tournament, where they will look to return to the championship match for the second year in a row.

“[We have to] trust each other. I think our biggest issue this year was easing into trusting everyone. Kids getting comfortable with whoever it is. They need to trust that they’re going to be able to do their role in that position, and that’s what we expect,” Correa said about finishing off the regular season. “That’s really what we need, to get ready for the playoffs against tougher competition.”