Associate head coach Frank Pelaez could see it.

About 20 minutes into Sunday's game against DePaul at Valley Fields, he sensed that his squad, which had exerted much effort in Friday's dramatic win over No. 6 Notre Dame, was fatigued.

He told junior forward Alison Loughrin, who was about to sub in, "What do we need out there right now? Besides a goal, what do we need? We need some energy out there."

It never really came, but Marquette (11-1-1, 4-1-0) displayed enough pragmatism and defensive organization to avoid a letdown and earn a 1-0 win.

"As much as we want to play more attractive at times, and put the ball on the ground and connect and possess the ball, it starts with our defense," head coach Markus Roeders said. "It was a bit of a dull game."

Sophomore forward Christy Zwolski scored her sixth goal of the season, and sophomore goalkeeper Laura Boyer notched her seventh shutout.

"In our warm-ups we had a lot of energy," said Zwolski. "And then we just got out there and our legs were done."

Zwolski scored in the 16th minute after a lethargic start by both sides. She snuck in at the near post to head in a corner kick from freshman defender Katie Kelly. The ball appeared to strike DePaul goalkeeper Cara LaRocca and defender Caitlin Ferrell on its way into the net.

Both teams seemed content with the result, for neither side created many scoring chances for the rest of the game. Which was fine for the Golden Eagles because, obviously, they did not have to.

Despite the exhibition-like intensity to the match, senior defender Heather Goranson knew the result was crucial.

"If we didn't win today, Friday wouldn't have meant anything," Goranson said.

Besides the win, Sunday's game may have had unintended importance. Marquette suffered a scare midway through the second half when Loughrin, the very player who most often energizes the team off the bench, left the game with an injury.

On Monday she was diagnosed with an anterior cruciate ligament tear and will miss the rest of the season.

"We have great depth on this team," Goranson said. "So I would like to think that any number of girls could step up and give us a spark off the bench."

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 4, 2005.