Marquette came into the Big East/Big Ten challenge with three goals on the year and only added one to that total last weekend. The Golden Eagles lost 1-0 at No. 19/15 Michigan State on Friday and tied Michigan 1-1 in double overtime at Valley Fields Sunday.
Sophomore midfielder Ryan Robb said the team has had plenty of opportunities to put more goals on the scoreboard, but it’s just a matter of punching them in. In three of its last four matches, Marquette out-shot its opponent, but it has been outscored 4-1 in that stretch.
“Football is one of those games that if you don’t take (advantage of) your opportunities, then you’re not going to win,” Robb said. “We seem to be getting a lot of opportunities, but we can’t take them. I think in time it will come; it’s just a matter of people having the confidence.”
Marquette has had the misfortune of facing teams with incredibly skilled keepers. Against Michigan, the Golden Eagles faced a goalkeeper that only allowed .67 goals-per-game entering Sunday’s match. On Friday, they faced Michigan State’s keeper, who allowed an average of 1.5 goals per game.
Sophomore forward Chris Madsen said it’s a combination of bad luck and good goalkeeping that the team hasn’t been more offensive in its last four matches.
“Against Michigan State the goalie was a little tentative, and we took it to (him) at first,” Madsen said. “But then we backed off and didn’t get enough at him. (Sunday), I wouldn’t say it was good goalkeeping, but we just didn’t get the right bounces.”
Coach Louis Bennett said injuries have hurt his team’s ability to find continuity and understanding between players on offense because of the different lineup combinations Bennett has put on the pitch. Marquette had nine players dealing with injuries after the Michigan game, and five that won’t come back this season.
“This way, you have to try to get more people prepared rather than focus on the 11,” Bennett said. “Or in basketball they focus on the five or six, and then they have the backup guys. We haven’t got a first team and a backup team until we get everyone healthy.”
Junior midfielder Callum Mallace leads the team in goals (two of the team’s four) and shots (32). Before the game against Michigan, Mallace led the Big East in total shots (25) and was second in shots per game (five).
Robb said it’s very important for the team to find other offensive outlets to help out Mallace.
“We’ve got big guys in the back that can chip in a few goals,” Robb said. “We see it in training all the time, but it’s just that the games are totally different than training. That’s why coach tries to make training as much like a game situation as possible.”
No. 7/8 Connecticut, the highest-ranked Big East team, has scored 15 goals in its five games thus far this season. If Marquette wants to move toward the upper echelon of the Big East standings, it’ll need to get more offensive.
