When it comes to penalty kicks, it’s just you and the goalie out there. No defense, no referees, no teammates. You have no one to lean on for support and no one to blame if things go wrong.
On a wet and blistery day at Valley Fields, it was fitting that both of the Marquette men’s soccer team’s matches would be decided at the cold and lonely penalty spot.
The Golden Eagles played superb defense in the Wisconsin DI Spring Cup shutting out both their opponents, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin-Green Bay, in regulation, sending both games directly to penalty kicks.
Marquette handled the situations with varying results. Against UW-Milwaukee, two Golden Eagles failed to put their shots on target, spoiling a sprawling kick-save from junior goalkeeper Keenan Flynn and losing both the game and the opportunity to play for the tournament championship.
Later in the day against Wisconsin-Green Bay, Flynn made his presence felt, kick-saving a penalty kick in regulation and then forcing the Phoenix to miss all three of their attempts with a combination of mind games and diving saves.
Before every kick, the 6-foot-1 keeper would stand over the ball, right in front of the player until the referee forced him to move back, making the opposing kicker think about his shot a little more.
“I try to psych them out a little bit,” Flynn said. “Basically I just try to mess with their head a little bit. I take a little bit of time and play a lot of mental games.”
The solitary nature of penalty kicks make them more mental than physical, according to Flynn. Anything that will get opponents to think about their shot will make it more difficult.
On the offensive end, sophomore midfielder Calum Mallace said he didn’t think about his shot too much, telling his teammates to pick a side and “stick it.”
The strategy paid off as Mallace hit both of his penalties Saturday, including the game-clincher against Wisconsin-Green Bay.
To get to PKs, Marquette had to battle stretches of rain, 30 mph wind, and 40 degree weather, as well as two well-organized squads.
Mallace believed the wind had the biggest effect on the game. Goal kicks that usually go 55 yards will sail over 60 yards with the wind but only travel 50 against it.
“We had two different formations that we used, one with the wind and one against the wind,” he said. “It does make a big difference and usually you hold back and try to defend against the wind.”
And defend they did. Marquette didn’t give up a goal in regulation in 140 minutes played this weekend.
“I’m really happy with how we’re looking,” Flynn said. “Throughout the spring we haven’t given up many goals. We’ve done a really good job as a unit. It gives us confidence going into next year.”
All Marquette is missing now is the final piece, the goals of their own.
“We’ve got one final piece that we really have to nail by early in August, and that’s finishing,” coach Louis Bennett said. “That’s putting the ball in the back of the net. We’re breaking down defenses that are hard to defend. Putting the ball in the back of the net would be a justification of how we’re playing.”
