Junior goalie Katie Bissen, who shut out Vanderbilt Friday, had two saves in the game prior to the game-winning shot by Dayton forward Shannon Kuhl in the 84th minute. The penalty kick was created when a cross hit Golden Eagle defender Sarah Uyenishi in the left elbow.

“I think it was a soft call,” Marquette coach Markus Roeders said. “Some referees would have called it, some would not.”

The Golden Eagles played with a sense of urgency with six minutes remaining before regulation in an effort to tie the game, but the Flyers managed to keep possession, not allowing Marquette a chance to score.

“We tried not to panic, but we can’t walk in expecting one goal to win every game,” Roeders said.

He added that the Flyers took as much time off the clock as they could, holding the ball out of bounds before passing and keeping the ball on the perimeter.

The Golden Eagles finished with eight shots on goal — three in the first half and five in the second — compared with Dayton’s nine. Dayton goalie Sarah West had five saves in the second half.

Marquette’s best chance to score came in the 62nd minute, when sophomore midfielder Heather Goranson put a header on net from 10 yards out.

The loss is Marquette’s first of the season. The team finished second in the Milwaukee Cup for the second consecutive year after losing to Oakland University in the championship game last season.

Within two days, Roeders went from being a happy coach to a disappointed one.

On Friday his team celebrated its first win of the season after a battle with Vanderbilt. In that game, senior midfielder Carolyn Klopp was able to shoot into the left corner from 10 yards out on a long-booted assist from senior midfielder Laura Culhane as she caught Klopp on the run past Vanderbilt defender Monica Buff.

“(Culhane) looked up and I darted through,” Klopp said. “I just touched it in the net. In the huddle, (Roeders) said it would take one magical moment.”

“For us it’s very exciting because it’s a new group of players,” Roeders said. “I’m a happy coach tonight.”

In the first half, sophomore forward Kristie Matola had three shots on goal, one off a penalty kick, another through traffic and the third kick was into the left corner against opposing goalie Stacee Sproul. Vanderbilt substituted the keeper for Esther Thompson, who was injured as a result of a kick to the face in the 12th minute by Marquette freshman Alison Loughrin.

“This is a big step coming off the loss (to Illinois),” Klopp said. “People have underestimated our team. I think we’ll surprise people.”

Roeders agrees Marquette has been overlooked this season.

“They look at how Marquette lost nine seniors, but the same thing happened in 1996,” he said. “We made a statement tonight that we didn’t go anywhere. They think we’re down, we’re just different.”

Bissen, Klopp and Lindsay Smale were named to the all-tournament team.

The Golden Eagles’ next match is Friday against No. 23 USC at 2:15 p.m at the Nike Michigan Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“We played well against two great college teams this weekend,” Roeders said. “Our defense was able to get composure and come together as a unit. Offensively, we were able to get a number of chances. We just have to take the positive and learn from the negative going into a good tournament next weekend.”