The Golden Eagles were wired from the start in their home opener, truly dominating the play in a 2-0 win over Gonzaga.

It was a rainy night to remember for two redshirt freshman. Alex McBride and Daniel Szczepanek each scored their first goals of their Marquette careers to propel the Golden Eagles team to victory.

“When we create chances multiple people can score goals,” Marquette coach Louis Bennett said. “We definitely had good chances on set pieces. We also created chances in the regular flow of play. In fact, the pressure we put on them made them actually give us more set pieces.”

McBride broke the ice in the sixth minute, scoring on a corner that deflected right to him standing at the top of the box. His shot made it through the traffic and possibly deflected off a Gonzaga defender.

“My spot on the top of the box, I kind of get any shots that come out,” McBride said. “It was a nice lofted ball in, and it just bounced out to me.”

Szczepanek’s goal came late in the 42nd on an odd-man rush for Marquette. Gonzaga goalkeeper Chris Lowrimore challenged Szczpanek, who beat the keeper and shot into the open net.

The second half was pretty quiet, with neither team getting many chances. Marquette still predominately controlled the tempo and didn’t allow a shot in the first twenty minutes of the second frame.

It wasn’t all good for Marquette, as senior Sebastian Jansson was hurt in a collision in the second half. Bennett had no information on the severity of the injury, but Jansson was seen leaving on crutches.

Marquette controlled the play from the start, severely limiting the Bulldogs chances. Marquette outshot Gonzaga 18-to-eight, and only two of Gonzaga’s shots were on goal. Marquette had many more opportunities to score as well, but weren’t able to put a third ball past Lowrimore.

“We could have, should have, or maybe with a bit of good fortune have had two more,” Bennett said.

Charlie Lyon picked up his first shutout of the year with the win. One of his two saves was a sprawling move in the second half, when a Gonzaga player had the entire left side of the pitch at his disposal.

“(With) the ebbs and flows of the game it’s very rare when a team gets nothing,” Bennett said. “They didn’t have any true cut chances. A lot of them were from outside and Charlie handled what he needed to handle.”

Marquette is back in action Sunday when they take on the Oregon State Beavers in the final match of the Panther Invitational at noon.