Blustery conditions couldn’t stop the red-hot Marquette women’s soccer team from blowing away its two opponents Saturday afternoon at Valley Fields.
The Golden Eagles closed out a four-game home stand with a 5-0 shellacking of fellow Big East rival DePaul followed by a more tightly-contested 2-1 victory over Wisconsin.
Marquette stepped on the throats of the Blue Demons from the opening whistle and found itself leading 5-0 after just 45 minutes of play.
Freshman Rachel Brown tallied two goals in less 15 minutes to give Marquette a 2-0 lead at halftime. Both games played were 70 minutes apiece instead of the usual 90-minute contests.
Marquette wasted no time putting the game out of reach, with three more goals in five minutes, the first scored by junior midfielder Rosie Malone-Povolny and the final two coming from junior forward Ashley Bares.
“This is a team we hadn’t played in two years, so we really weren’t sure what to expect other than what we have heard from other teams,” junior Julia Victor said. “We knew that they had been getting better, so it was nice to know that we are too.”
Unlike many times last season, this Golden Eagles team seems content on pushing the tempo offensively and trying to get early goals to take a team out of its game.
“For us to score five goals in the first 45 minutes against a quality DePaul squad is excellent and shows our efficiency is our attacking,” coach Markus Roeders said. “The windy conditions were an added challenge, but we mastered the elements well.”
In the Wisconsin game, the Badgers were able to jump out to a 1-0 advantage just four minutes into the game. It was the first time the Golden Eagles had trailed all spring, but they weren’t fazed, tying the game with a Lauren Acree goal in the 23rd minute. The score remained locked at 1-1 heading into halftime and it seemed like the game was destined to end in a tie.
However, Malone-Povolny found Acree, whose kick from just inside the box found the back of the net for a 2-1 lead which would ultimately be the final score.
“Although we allowed an early goal against Wisconsin, give our team credit for battling back and winning the game at the end,” Roeders said. “Wisconsin played more physical than any other team we played against this spring, a good practice for our team.”
Finding consistency is part of what the team has been looking for this spring, and the entire team is certainly contributing to that goal so far. Similar to last weekend, all 19 active members of the team were able to participate in both matches, which can only help as they prepare for next season.
“While it can be tricky to find a rhythm with so many subs, it definitely relieves the stress of playing,” said Malone-Povolny. “I think it’s a good sort of tricky.”
With the two victories, Marquette improved to 5-0-1 on the spring season with two games left this weekend at Illinois. The team will face the host Illini at noon Saturday before taking on fellow Big Ten member Purdue at 4 p.m.
