The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

Men’s soccer takes the Milwaukee Cup

The Milwaukee Cup is a rusty brass trophy that stands about two feet tall. The wooden base has little gold plaques covering it that read Milwaukee and Marquette — the Milwaukees outnumber the Marquettes.

That's why the Golden Eagles traveled across town to play Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wednesday night. The match had no bearing on their Big East standing, it was simply another chance for Marquette to get a good result.

"I'll be honest with you…this is a bonus game," coach Louis Bennett said. "Squeezed in between all of our conference games, and same for them. This is a game where we should celebrate soccer in the state and certainly celebrate soccer in Milwaukee."

It is certainly a lot easier to celebrate soccer following a 2-0 win over your former team. Even easier when it is the first time you have beaten that team since leaving it for your current one.

With the win, the Golden Eagles improved to 3-7-4, the most wins by any Marquette team under Bennett.

The victory did not come easily though, and Bennett would be the first to say that it wasn't exactly an attractive match. But for him and his team, holding that beat-up trophy after the game while the Marquette faithful gave a standing ovation was all that mattered.

"It's nice to get a win," Bennett said. "In-state rivalries and cross-state rivalries can sometimes get very ugly. And I don't know if it was necessarily our most prettiest game, but I thought we did very well."

Marquette's first goal came in the 43rd minute when freshman midfielder Calum Mallace took a Billy Von Rueden pass, found an open lane and buried the ball in the left side of the net.

The goal, Mallace's first of the season, was appropriate since his older brother Craig Mallace played for Bennett at UW-Milwaukee. Craig could be seen on the sideline sporting his old Panther's jersey, but Calum said that he was torn 50-50 on who to cheer for.

"He had some UWM stuff on, he had some Marquette stuff on," Mallace said. "It's all in fun. He congratulated me so it was good."

The Golden Eagles came out in the second half playing with much greater confidence working with a lead. But the Panthers played as if they hadn't noticed, giving Marquette goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski a lot of work in the net.

"They brought it," Pyzdrowski said. "They were putting us under a lot of pressure in that second half. As a goalkeeper you've just got to stay mentally focused the entire game.

"Getting the second goal definitely takes some weight off the shoulders. Not to say, by any means, you're relaxed, but you know you have that cushion."

Marquette's second goal came in the 78th minute from midfielder Tom Lynn. The junior fired a shot from the right corner of the box that sailed past a diving Panther's keeper to put Marquette up 2-0.

Even after the Golden Eagles' second goal the Panthers refused to let up, keeping Pyzdrowski busy with a few more shot attempts. UWM ended with 16 shots to Marquette's 11 and five shots on goal to Marquette's four. Pyzdrowski also registered his fourth shutout of the season, ending with five saves.

Pyzdrowski, who followed Bennett from UW-Milwaukee after his freshman season, knew the importance of getting this win more than most of the Golden Eagles – for Bennett, for the team and the Marquette soccer program in general.

"It's definitely special," he said. "Coming from UWM and bringing this trophy back, I think someone said it is the first time in five years."

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