Sunday afternoon Marquette was tasked with taking on a Michigan side that was flying high after their 2-0 victory Thursday night over No. 12 Notre Dame. The Golden Eagles were up to the task, bringing the Wolverines back down to Earth with a comprehensive 2-1 victory.
Head coach Markus Roeders was pleased with his team’s performance.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Roeders said. “I think it showed our team again what we’re capable of doing.”
Marquette owned the majority of the possession in the first half. They used the possession to create quality chances, but the end product wasn’t there.
In the 10th minute Carrie Madden found the ball at her feet with a chance to shoot from 15 yards out, but she rifled the ball right into the keeper’s hands.
A pair of chances in the 17th and 18th minute for Liz Bartels and Madden had fans on their feet, but again the ball failed to find the net.
Michigan had their first quality chance of the match when Reilly Martin forced Maddy Henry to make a save on an open look from 20 yards out in the 31st minute.
A similar chance fell to Ani Sarkisian just four minutes later, and she took advantage, firing a curler into the top right corner of the net. It was Sarkisian’s third goal of the season and it put Michigan up 1-0.
“The goal that they scored was a little unfortunate because it came at a time where we had played ourselves into the game and settled in,” said Roeders.
The tempo slowed a bit as the first half came to a close with Michigan in the driver’s seat.
Marquette continued to bring heavy pressure early in the second half. They generated offense down the left wing through freshman full back Emily Hess, who provided the Golden Eagles the breakthrough moment they needed.
The Batavia, Illinois, native ran down the left sideline with the ball and as one defender turned into two, a quick cut allowed her to enter the box where she was tripped from behind. The referee pointed to the spot, giving Marquette their best chance of the game so far.
“I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team, so (that means) taking it wide,” Hess said. “There’s space there so I thought I could take it and I tried and I was able to draw a foul.”
Senior captain Morgan Proffitt stepped up to take the penalty, and she slotted it home.
“I was kind of nervous because I missed some PKs at preseason and at the USA game back in the summer,” Proffitt said. “So I was a little nervous before it, but I finally got one.”
Marquette threatened to take the lead just three minutes later when Madden headed the ball to the near post, but her attempt was just off target.
In the 68th minute Hess was fouled again after beating two defenders. This time the free kick came from outside the box and Hess stepped up to take it herself.
She swung the ball in away from the goalkeeper with her left foot and Molly Pfeiffer got on the end of the ball to give Marquette the lead. Pfeiffer’s header was her first goal of the season and her second in two games against Michigan.
In the final 10 minutes Michigan created scoring opportunities from a pair of corner kicks, but Henry proved herself to be reliable once again. She tidied up a few dangerous crosses and dove on a loose ball that sat just a foot from the goal line. The freshman goalkeeper’s strength late in the game, along with Morgan Proffitt’s ability to bully the Wolverine midfield sealed Marquette’s second 2-1 victory of the week.
“Morgan Proffitt is playing like one of the best players in the country.
“Morgan Proffitt is playing like one of the best players in the country,” Roeders said. “I don’t even know how many tackles she won tonight. … She’s terrific.”
The win improves Marquette’s record to 2-2 before a difficult West Coast road trip this week. Taking on a team like Michigan was good preparation for games against UC-Santa Clara and Stanford, two more strong teams.
“You saw a heavyweight fight between two teams that are really trying to gain a win,” said Roeders.
Marquette takes on Santa Clara (2-1) on the road Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. CST.