All things must come to an end, but the Marquette women’s soccer team wasn’t anticipating its season would end this soon.

Western Michigan stunned Marquette 1-0 Friday at Valley Fields in the first round of the College Cup, bringing the Golden Eagles’ spectacular season to a screeching halt. Marquette had an ongoing 13-game winning streak and had not lost at home in 21 matches, but the Broncos were persistent enough to force the upset.

Junior Aubrey Sudomier fought off three defenders on a breakaway in the 84th minute and slipped a shot past Marquette junior goalkeeper Sofie Schunk for the game-winner.

The stars had aligned for the Golden Eagles to make a deep run in the tournament, given their success at home and momentum from winning the Big East Championship, but all that remains is a premature departure.

“You’re hoping you’re able to go further,” coach Markus Roeders said. “At the end of the day it comes down to winning games, and tonight we weren’t able to do so. This is extremely tough obviously because we didn’t win tonight and we didn’t get to advance.”

Marquette had several opportunities on goal, especially in the second half. Senior defender Katie Hishmeh had a shot that deflected off the right post in the 65th minute that nearly gave the Golden Eagles the advantage. In the 75th minute, senior midfielder Maegan Kelly received a crisp feed from freshman Liz Bartels, but her attempt was saved.

The team was not accustomed to trailing late in matches, so the added pressure resulted in some patches of nervous scrambling.

“I think it’s what you love about the game, but it’s also what makes the game extremely difficult,” Roeders said. “All it takes is one golden shot, and we obviously didn’t get that shot tonight.”

The Golden Eagles are now 41-3-3 at Valley Fields over the past four years. The defensive-minded Western Michigan team was able to earn its 12th shutout of the season as Marquette was blanked for the first time since Aug. 23.

Even after its sixth consecutive College Cup and 12th overall, Marquette has still never advanced past the Sweet 16. It’s now 7-4-1 in first round games. The team will try to review film to see where breakdowns occurred, but it will also take some time to simply reflect on the loss. Players and coaches were hard-pressed to find words to boost the team’s morale.

“There’s not a whole lot you can say right now,” Roeders said. “Nobody has words right now that’s going to make everyone else feel better. I think you just take a couple of moments and realize that one game might be season-ending, but it’s not defining of who they are and what the program is all about.”

The loss is especially unfortunate for the team’s eight seniors, who certainly didn’t want their season to come to an end at Valley Fields. The seniors combined for 75 points (24 goals and 27 assists), slightly more than half of the team total of 147.

“It’s tough for our eight seniors,” Roeders said. “They have done such an outstanding job for us throughout their career, and they had a incredible season this year. I think they put our program on a level we’ve been at before but not quite as high as we have been this season.”

The Golden Eagles will next play in the spring in a series of exhibition matches. The schedule typically begins in March and ends in late April.