The Marquette women’s soccer team stayed undefeated at home, with a 1-0 victory over its new nemesis Minnesota.
At the end of the first frame a victory seemed improbable for the Golden Eagles as they struggled to maintain possession against the physical Golden Gophers.
The offensive onslaught Marquette dropped on Wisconsin-Green Bay Thursday night was nowhere to be seen in the first half against Minnesota. The Gophers held an 8-5 shot advantage and a 4-1 shots on goal advantage going into the intermission.
“The first half we struggled a little bit winning balls in the air and trying to sort it out,” senior forward Becky Ryan said. “I think we were just really emotional, because we wanted to beat this team so bad, because they knocked us out of the (NCAA) Tournament last year.”
Marquette, however, was able to keep Minnesota off the board with stellar play from sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Kulla, who recorded four first-half saves.
But for all of Marquette’s first-half offensive ineptitude, it didn’t take long for the Golden Eagles to get on the board in the second.
At the 48:10 mark Ryan scooped up a loose ball following a broken play, turned and fired one past Minnesota keeper, Cat Parkhill, putting the Golden Eagles up 1-0, with junior midfielder Julia Victor getting credit for the assist.
Following the goal Marquette found itself with a few more scoring opportunities, but more importantly, the team stepped up its defensive play.
“I don’t think we really tackled hard enough in the beginning,” coach Markus Roeders said. “I think we didn’t go to some of the balls hard enough. … I think we wore them down a little bit as well just by the way we played and how aggressive we were.”
It is that aggressiveness on the defensive end that has allowed Marquette to prevent opponents from scoring a single goal at Valley Fields.
“For me, being my fifth year here, it’s kind of become something I expect year in and year out,” defender Allison McBride said. “It’s always been that way since I’ve been here. I always expect us to come out defensively and give it a good effort.”
After managing to keep a clean slate in the first half, Marquette allowed just one shot in the second, finishing the game with a 12-9 shot advantage and a 5-4 shots on goal advantage
“I think we had to grind it out a little bit today,” Roeders said. “They were a nationally-ranked team. They were 4-1-1 before they came in here. So we know they were going to be a tough opponent.”
