Seven minutes and 53 seconds. That's how long it took for the Marquette men's soccer team to lose a 1-0 decision to No. 20 Connecticut at Valley Fields Saturday.

That's the point at which Huskies' midfielder Dori Arad headed a corner kick from midfielder Mike Pezza past a sprawling Matt Pyzdrowski and into the back of the Golden Eagles' net.

From then on, it didn't matter that the Marquette thoroughly out-hustled and outplayed Connecticut (7-3-4, 4-3-1 Big East) over the game's final 80-plus minutes. It didn't matter that the Golden Eagles outshot the Huskies 16-10 (including five shots on goal in the second half). It didn't matter that Marquette created a few chances that would have been sure goals if not for stellar saves from Connecticut goalkeeper Josh Ford.

What mattered was that, again, the Golden Eagles failed to tally a goal and lost a tight decision to a ranked team. The loss dropped the Golden Eagles to 2-7-4 (1-5-2 Big East), including a 0-4-1 mark against teams ranked in the top 25 at the time of the match.

This time the Golden Eagles couldn't look to a lack of talent or execution. They had to blame the loss on a sluggish start that left them all too vulnerable in the game's early minutes.

"In the first 10 minutes I don't know if we weren't ready to play or we were just a little intimidated because they were" Connecticut, said sophomore midfielder Anthony Colaizzi. "We definitely came out flat in the first few minutes and we paid for it."

The result was that a few Marquette defenders were blocked out on the corner kick from Pezza, and Pyzdrowski was screened on the header. By the time he recovered, the ball had already snuck past his outstretched arms.

"It was just a mental lack of focus, I guess," defender Paul Monsen said. "It just took a funny bounce and unfortunately slipped under (Pyzdrowski). He got down to it, but it took a bounce and slipped under him."

The momentum of the game shifted soon afterward, and Marquette controlled most of the possession in the second half. The Golden Eagles managed to fire three shots on goal in the game's final 10 minutes but were unable to push the equalizer across.

"When we score one goal, with the exception of Notre Dame (a 4-1 loss) we either win or we tie," coach Louis Bennett said. "So what does that say? We need to score more goals.

"We're knocking on the door. It's our job as coaches now to find the personnel and combinations that don't just knock, that open the thing and walk in."

Marquette also lost 1-0 decisions to ranked opponents St. John's and Illinois-Chicago and tied Louisville 1-1. The three-goal defeat at the hands of the Fighting Irish is the Golden Eagles' largest loss to a ranked team.

"We already know that we belong on the same field (as these teams), I mean clearly we do," Colaizzi said. "It's not a secret that we do anymore. As far as that goes, I don't really have an answer. I don't know why" we came out slow.

After the game, both Bennett and associate head coach Stan Anderson could be heard loudly reprimanding the Marquette players even as Bennett said he was proud of the progress his team has made this season.

Bennett "is just so frustrated that we played as well as we did in the second half, and why can't we do it for all 90 minutes," Colaizzi said. "It's just frustrating because we have so much potential . unfortunately losing is just as much a habit as winning.

"I think today was just a wake-up call . (Bennett) definitely opened a few eyes for people."