"I can remember yelling at (senior defender Michelle) Pitzl," Boyer said, "letting her know that everyone needs to get up together more because we keep turning it over to their backs, and they're countering.,”An exchange between junior goalkeeper Laura Boyer and sophomore defender Shannon Cusick during Saturday's NCAA first round match at Valley Fields exhibited the players' contrasting views on how to hold onto a 1-0 lead.

"I can remember yelling at (senior defender Michelle) Pitzl," Boyer said, "letting her know that everyone needs to get up together more because we keep turning it over to their backs, and they're countering.

"And then Cusick turned to me and said, 'Boyer, they have another forward up, so we want to play it safe.'"

Marquette (12-6-4) balanced the desire to add a second goal with the necessity of not conceding a goal and held off Purdue 1-0. The Golden Eagles face No. 3 seed Florida, which defeated Loyola (Ill.) 2-0 earlier in the afternoon, on Sunday at Valley Fields in the second round.

"They played very experienced," head coach Markus Roeders said of his team. "They weren't nervous about playing this game."

They had no reason to be nervous, considering many of them played on the 2005 squad that advanced to the final 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Scoring first always helps ease the nerves, though.

Junior Allison Mallams held the ball at the top of the 18-yard box in the 31st minute and allowed the Purdue defense to collapse on her. Mallams played a through ball behind the defenders to a streaking Julia Egasti on the right side, and the junior scored her first goal of the season with a well-taken strike to the far post.

Mallams "played a perfect ball right through the center," said Egasti, who had checked into the game about a minute before she scored. "She definitely made that play happen."

After the goal, Marquette prevented the Boilermakers from making plays happen by heeding the advice of both Boyer and Cusick. The Golden Eagles kept their opponent honest with dangerous counter-attacks, and they had a majority of the second-half possession until the closing 10 minutes.

Purdue failed to mount consistent pressure on the Marquette goal, and when the Golden Eagles adopted Cusick's more conservative style, they rarely seemed troubled.

"Shannon Cusick is key to keeping composure for us," Egasti said. "She's never screaming at anyone; she definitely keeps us all calm."

Of course, there's no need to keep these players calm. They've been here before.

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