In what was a defensive battle for much of the game, the two-time Big East American Division champion Marquette women’s soccer team defeated DePaul 3-0 Sunday at Valley Fields in the Big East Championship Quarterfinals.
The win was the 12th straight for the Golden Eagles (15-3-2), who haven’t lost since a 2-1 setback at Brigham Young on Sept. 11.
Sophomore midfielder Rachel Brown’s 30th minute goal off a perfect cross from senior forward Ashley Bares was Marquette’s first goal in a first half since a 4-0 win against Cincinnati on Oct. 15.
Despite the goal, DePaul (11-9-2) seemed content to play defense for the majority of the game, rather than put the pressure on a Marquette defense that now has not allowed a goal in three games.
“That Louisville game was really an aberration on how our defense plays,” senior defender Lauren Thut said. “We’re better than that, and we’ve proven it in the past few games.”
The game Thut referred to was a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals when Marquette allowed two goals in the first 12 minutes of the game. Marquette has allowed just one goal since that 12 minute stretch.
Any offensive attacks the Blue Demons threw at Marquette were quickly thwarted by a Golden Eagle backline that seems to gain more confidence every game.
Marquette launched an aggressive assault on DePaul in the first half, tallying seven shots on goal before Brown’s goal.
“Give DePaul credit, their defense was outstanding for a majority of the game,” coach Markus Roeders said. “But we were able to break through in the first half and added a few on at the end.”
Junior forward Lindsey Page sent a header to senior midfielder Lauren Acree, who buried her first goal of the season in the 81st minute.
Marquette has gotten a goal from 14 different players this season with the addition of Acree’s tally, while 20 have recorded at least one point.
“We have a lot of contributors on this team,” Page said. “It’s really a philosophy of ‘next girl in,’ and we’ve all been able to play really well.”
Marquette improved its record to 13-0 this season when scoring two goals or more, and the 12-game winning streak is currently the fourth longest in the nation.
It bears noting that a surprising result came earlier in the afternoon, when Notre Dame lost its quarterfinal match 2-0, at home to Connecticut.
The Fighting Irish were 9-0-2 in the Big East during the regular season and 15-1-2 overall on the season.
The loss also snapped a 77-match unbeaten streak against conference opponents for Notre Dame.
Now the Golden Eagles have to be considered the favorite to win their first ever Big East tournament championship.
“Well, it was surprising to hear Notre Dame lost, but it just shows that any team can win or lose any day in this conference,” Thut said.
Marquette will travel to the campus of Rutgers for its semifinal match against South Florida on Friday night.
The Golden Eagles beat the Bulls 2-1 on Sept. 17 at USF.
“Obviously, we’re comfortable with (South Florida) because we beat them earlier this season, but they knocked off a very good opponent in Georgetown, and they’ll be ready,” Roeders said. “But so will we.”
