Marquette women’s soccer coach Markus Roeders gathered his players at midfield shortly after their 6-0 trouncing of Providence Sunday. Locking hands, the team marched toward the fans and gracefully took a bow.
The Big East regular season champions are familiar with the routine.
The Golden Eagles claimed their fifth straight first-place finish in the conference, and its first in the new, single-table format. No. 17 Marquette already earned itself a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament, which will be hosted at Valley Fields next week.
“Everybody who has been a part of this program in the past has all done their part for us to be where we are now,” Roeders said. “For us to be in this position in the new Big East, with the way it’s structured now … it never gets old. You play for that. You play for winning games.”
Senior midfielder Maegan Kelly, who scored two goals in the game, only knows conference titles in her collegiate career. For her, the journey has been somewhat surreal.
“I never thought this would happen to me,” Kelly said. “It’s a pretty cool experience overall.”
Marquette received additional scores from Mady Vicker, Ashley Handwork, Alex Heffron and Shalese Miller.
Vicker scored in the 13th minute on a combined assist from Cara Jacobson and Taylor Madigan. A goal by Handwork in the 41st minute shifted the Golden Eagles into the next gear.
Kelly nailed a penalty kick in the 49th minute to extend the margin to three and scored again seven minutes later when she beat the goalie to the near post and tapped the ball in the net.
Heffron’s corner kick in the 77th minute ricocheted off the post and rolled out of the reach of Providence’s keeper, one of Marquette’s more peculiar goals of the season. Miller tallied her goal with two seconds remaining to help Marquette earn its most lopsided victory this fall.
Providence, which dropped to 2-6 in the Big East, was powerless all afternoon. Marquette’s defenders smothered its front line, not allowing a shot on goal and continuing its shutout streak, which stands at 491 consecutive minutes. The Golden Eagles held a 16-0 shots on goal advantage.
“For us, everybody has to attack and everybody has to defend,” Roeders said. “We try to put the puzzle pieces together and at the end of the day, like today, we can claim a championship, which is pretty sweet.”
There will be a fair share of celebration for the achievement, but there is still work to be completed. Senior night is Saturday against Butler, and the underclassmen would like to return to work soon to ensure Saturday’s match is a memorable one for veterans.
“We’re going to have fun,” Vicker said. “We’re going to have a lot of fun. Senior Night is coming up, so that’s going to be fun, and we can’t wait to play for our seniors. It’ll be great.”
Attention is now on the upcoming conference tournament. The bye will benefit Marquette’s practice regiment but competing at Valley Fields, where it is 44-3-5 in the last four years, appears to be the true advantage.
“That’s a huge treat,” Vicker said. “It makes a huge difference playing at home versus traveling. It’s always nice to play in front of your fans on your field and kind of protect the house. It gives a little extra motivation.”
