Marquette reclaimed the Milwaukee Cup in dominant fashion Wednesday night in a game that felt far more lopsided than its 2-0 final.
Redshirt freshman Jack Albert’s header in the 15th minute and redshirt junior C. Nortey’s far post tap in the 28th minute were enough to defeat Wisconsin-Milwaukee and return the Milwaukee Cup trophy to Marquette after a year hiatus. Senior goalkeeper Charlie Lyon extended his shutout streak to four games, the 24th blank slate of his career. Lyon needs two more to set the Marquette record for shutouts.
The victory against UWM was the 11th win for Marquette in the series history. Marquette head coach Louis Bennett now has a 4-4-1 record against UWM since he joined the Golden Eagles in 2006.
“It’ll go in the display cabinet of the MU gym,” Bennett said. “You can come look at it whenever you want.”
The ties between the two universities have increased the tension in the Milwaukee Cup in recent seasons. Bennett spent ten years coaching the Panthers until accepting his current position at Marquette. Away from the pitch, former UWM chancellor John Lovell will be inaugurated as Marquette’s 24th president later this week. Lovell was in attendance for the match, another stop in his inauguration tour.
Marquette’s first tally was a solid example of getting the ball into the box to make good things happen. Sophomore midfielder Louis Bennett II, back after sitting out the Drake match, got his free kick from 90 yards away into the heavy traffic. Albert made the most of the opportunity, heading the ball past the UWM junior keeper Agustin Rey and into the back of the net.
Nortey’s goal came on a nifty back-leg shot off an inbox cross by junior Adam Hermsen. Rey didn’t have a chance.
“It was really special,” Bennett said of Nortey’s goal. “It’s one of those goals (where you say) ‘that’s a training field goal.’ We actually do practice that.”
Nortey had a noticeably strong game for the Golden Eagles, creating numerous chances and exemplifying his top notch speed.
“(Nortey’s) put in a lot the last four games,” Bennett continued. “He’s had a lot of attention and he gets whacked in the back a lot. He’s a soldier, he’s a warrior, he’s whatever you want to call him. But the bottom line is you call him a goal scorer.”
Lyon personally earned his shutout with a lunging save on a UWM penalty in the 81st minute. The Marquette keeper punched aside senior Laurie Bell’s shot to the left to seal the deal for the Golden Eagles.
“Today I think Charlie may have single-handedly earned himself a shutout,” said Bennett. “The best way to lead is by example, and today Charlie was a giant of a leader.”
“I chose which side I was going and I committed to it,” Lyon said. “I was so happy to see that ball coming that side … I just made up my mind and I went.”
The Marquette defensive unit only allowed one other shot to make it on net.
The matchup had all the fire you would expect from these two bitter rivals. The second half was noticeably chippy, including four yellow cards and eight fouls on Marquette. Despite the number of Marquette misdeeds, UWM was the side that seemed to be the most frustrated. Both sides were frequently conversing with the officials.
Marquette refused to take the foot off the gas pedal with the lead, but missed a few golden opportunities to extend the lead in the second frame. Redshirt junior and leading scorer David Selvaggi had a glorious open net opportunity but his strike deflected right off the crossbar.
Despite the shot totals for both sides being rather close, Marquette continued to create more dangerous chances. The one-sided nature of the majority of the match led to tempers flaring.
“I think it was a very gritty game,” Bennett said. “The nature of the game in the second half got a little ugly. I thought we held ourselves accountable.”
The match was played in front of a stuffed crowd of 1,954 spectators at Valley Fields, including fans from both sides of the fence. The attendance is the second largest in the facility’s history.
“It means a lot to the community, so it means a lot to the schools,” Bennett said. “We are really proud that we can have a college rivalry like this … It’s always going to be a tough game. The records going into this are never going to count. It’s just what you do on the day.”
For the Golden Eagles, their day couldn’t have unfolded much better.
Marquette will be away from home this weekend for the first time since the season opening tournament. The team will battle the Northern Illinois Huskies (2-2-2) at 7 pm Saturday. NIU played Wisconsin-Green Bay to a 2-2 draw Sunday.
Game highlights from PBP Dan Reiner as heard on Marquette Wire/Marquette Radio:
