Ashley Bares doesn't know how she manages to get herself in the perfect position to score game-winning goals.

It could be because she's just a lucky player. But luck tends to run out after a while, and Bares has consistently put away game-winning scores for the Golden Eagles this season (five times, to be exact).

Still, the sophomore forward for the Marquette women's soccer team said it kind of just, well, happens. In the 52nd minute of Marquette's 1-0 win over No. 24 Rutgers (12-6-1, 7-3-1 Big East) in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals Sunday, it happened again for Bares.

After stealing a ball from a Rutgers defender in the right side of the goal box, she took a few dribbles straight at Rutgers goalkeeper Erin Guthrie and fired a shot on the ground that slid inside the far post.

"The ball was kind of loose and I went in for a tackle," Bares said. "I came out on top, dribbled in a little and put it away far side . I think it's just being hungry for scoring and wanting to put the ball in the back of the net."

That one score was all Marquette (11-6-3, 6-3-2) would need as it advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. The Golden Eagles will face No. 1-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., Friday afternoon. Bares now has five goals on the season and has racked up a team-high 12 points.

"I'll take the goals whatever they are," Bares said. "I think when I know what's on the line and what needs to be done . it just makes me work even harder to get that goal.

"When you're a forward, you have that little bit of pressure because that's you're position, you're up top. Normally that's your primary goal on the field – to score."

Coach Markus Roeders has seen his team struggle to score all season (the Golden Eagles are averaging just 0.98 goals per game) and said he was just happy to see a goal, no matter when it came.

"I told (Bares), 'Do we always have to have game-winning goals or can we add a few more to it?'" Roeders said. "But it's great, we'll take it."

Of course, Bares' latest goal was only meaningful because of the solid play of the Marquette defense. As it has all season, Marquette limited Rutgers' scoring chances, allowing just eight shots (two on goal). The Scarlet Knights never really got close to scoring, as freshman goalkeeper Natalie Kulla recorded her sixth shutout of the season.

"We didn't give (Rutgers) any time," senior defender Katie Kelly said. "Most teams give them time and space, and they just pass the ball around and make people look dumb.

"I think we have one of the best defenses in the Big East, so that's probably another reason."

But the play of the defense wasn't a surprise for Marquette. The surprise was that it took the Golden Eagles that long to turn in one of their most complete games of the year.

"I was kind of shocked at how well we played," Kelly said. "We just showed a lot of character today that I thought maybe we had lost somewhere along the way.

"I knew we had it in us, but it was great to finally see it . I think that was probably one of our best games" this season.