In its first action of the spring, the Marquette women’s soccer team showed two Texas schools that everything isn’t necessarily bigger in Texas when it beat Baylor 1-0 and tied Texas A&M 2-2.
The instigators of the offense for the Golden Eagles in its two match-ups were a couple of sophomores: forward Lisa Philbin and midfielder Kerry McBride. Philbin scored the team’s lone goal against Baylor at the 44:57 mark. Against Texas A&M, McBride and fellow sophomore Lindsey Page teamed up to put the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard.
Philbin didn’t play in any matches this past fall season due to a series of health issues — mostly dealing with fatigue. In her freshman year, she played 17 games and started one game that season — a 1-1 tie against Cincinnati on Oct. 19.
“Having somebody like her come back and putting goals on the scoreboard is definitely a plus,” coach Markus Roeders said. “If she can sustain more minutes in a game, she will have more chances for goals.”
Playing a full 90-minute game and being a starter seems out of the question at this point, Roeders said. With Philbin, the hope is that she can play between 20 and 25 minutes per game and get to a point where she can do that at full health, which she still hasn’t achieved.
McBride appears primed for more of a defensive position on the team. She played much of the time in Texas at the sweeper position. Roeders said she can still play an integral role in the team’s offense in the spring and fall seasons.
“Kerry is always dangerous on set plays, especially because of her height and timing,” Roeders said of the 5-foot-10 McBride. “She’s just getting better and better. We’ve shown that we can be dangerous on corner kicks and she’s in the mix on that. As long as she’s out there she has to be one of our primary targets (on set plays).”
McBride’s goal against Texas A&M, in fact, was off of a corner kick. Although she’s set to spend much of her time on defense, she’s excited she’ll be able to remain a key part of the team’s offense.
While McBride, Page and Philbin led the way for the Golden Eagles in the first round of spring games, Roeders doesn’t think the team’s emphasis should be to have two or three players put the ball in the net. He said anyone on the team can score at any given time.
This weekend, the team will keep the ball rolling — but with home games against Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Nebraska at Valley Fields, the Golden Eagles don’t have to roll too far.
Junior midfielder Lauren Acree said a key to the weekend will be playing hard from the start of the game. She said Baylor caught the team off guard by coming out very aggressively and that the team’s focus should be on doing everything right from the start this weekend. If the Golden Eagles stick to that plan, they may just come up big in Wisconsin, as well.
