The Louisville players stretched in stunned silence several minutes after the final whistle, while the Marquette players celebrated the completion of their season's goal: to get to the final weekend of the Big East tournament at Valley Fields.
It was fitting. The contrast in emotion mirrored the teams' respective spirits after Marquette seized control of the match with senior midfielder Julie Thompson's 70th-minute penalty kick that tied the game.
The emotional gulf was further extended after sophomore forward Christy Zwolski's winner in the 89th minute clinched a 2-1 victory for the Golden Eagles (17-2-1) in a Big East tournament quarterfinal match Sunday.
"We've been setting goals the whole season, and we've made it a little harder on ourselves than we've needed to all along the way," said senior defender Heather Goranson. "So I guess it's fitting that we did it today, too."
The hero was fitting, too because it was Zwolski's fifth match-winning goal (ninth, overall) of the season. After a neat one-touch build-up, senior midfielder Lindsay Michuda played a through ball on the ground into the path of Zwolski, who struck a left-footed shot into the far corner of the net.
"That last goal was just brilliant," said head coach Markus Roeders, who recorded his 150th career victory Sunday. "It was one of the nicest sequences I've probably seen this year."
The winner was as inevitable as it was flawlessly executed, for Louisville never recovered from conceding the penalty. Zwolski played a diagonal through ball to junior forward Meghan Connelly, who was dragged down in the box. Thompson converted, and Marquette dominated the final 20 minutes.
"We talked about it at halftime, and we knew that if we scored a goal on them, that they'd get down on themselves because that's what happened last time," Goranson said.
Marquette trailed Louisville 1-0 on Oct. 16 before rallying to win 2-1 in overtime.
Not again, the Cardinal players must have thought. Not after a commanding first-half performance in which they should have scored two or three goals.
The quickness of Louisville forward Jamie Craft immediately caused problems for Marquette's backline, which relies more on organizational savvy than speed.
Craft broke free in the sixth minute and forced a good save from sophomore goalkeeper Laura Boyer.
Minutes later Craft made no mistake and blasted the ball past a stranded Boyer from close range.
"We know she's fast, quick and very athletic, and we knew what to expect," Goranson said of Craft. "We just let her get by."
The junior forward raced past Goranson in the 34th minute and played a square ball to Louisville's Erica Robinson, who managed to shoot over an empty net from five yards out.
As for Marquette's first-half offense, the team failed to play to its strength: passes on the ground.
"We don't play when the ball is in the air, and we had trouble keeping it on the ground," Zwolski said. "So if our midfield is not on, and if they're not connecting balls on the ground, then we're going to have a hard time."
It was fitting, then, that Marquette used precise, defense-splitting passes on the ground to set up its goals.
"We kept talking about it — you gotta play the ball through the seems, through their defenders," Roeders said. "We like to, ideally, always have the ball on the ground and knock it around."
The win sets up a rematch with defending national champion Notre Dame in one of the tournament semifinals. The two schools last played Sept. 30 at Valley Fields and Marquette won 4-1. Connecticut and West Virginia — the only teams to beat Marquette this season — will play in the other semifinal. Both matches Friday and the Big East tournament championship game Sunday will be played at Valley Fields.