Last week, the Marquette men’s soccer team walked off the pitch disappointed with its winless record. This weekend, the team walked off as Panther Invitational champions.
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Charlie Lyon and the Golden Eagles put up a clean sheet all weekend, winning 2-0 against Gonzaga Friday and 1-0 against Oregon State Sunday. It was a stark contrast to the previous weekend, when they dropped consecutive games to powerhouses Notre Dame and Indiana.
This go around, everything seemed to click, from footwork to set plays. The Golden Eagles played like the better team in both matches.
“I thought defensively we did really well,” Marquette coach Louis Bennett said. “Not giving goals up gives us a chance to win.”
Sunday’s game decided the champion of the tournament due to Oregon State beating Wisconsin-Milwaukee Friday night. With the two victories, Marquette moved up to No. 13 in Top Drawer Soccer’s rankings.
“Winning the Panther Invitational, although it may not be the main goal of the season, is very nice to get,” said redshirt junior defender Axel Sjoberg.
The two shutouts were Lyon’s 21st and 22nd of his career. He is now only six shutouts away from the school record, held by Jim Welsh.
“It’s a good feeling, especially for us to put it right after the first weekend,” Lyon said. “The guys in front of me worked incredibly hard and they did all the right things.”
The Golden Eagles commanded the Gonzaga game, heavily outshooting and outchancing their opposition. Oregon State played Marquette closer, but after scoring early on a penalty kick, Marquette allowed few opportunities for the Beavers to bite back.
It was a weekend of new scorers for Marquette. Redshirt freshmen Alex McBride and Daniel Szczepanek and redshirt junior David Selvaggi all scored their first goals as Golden Eagles.
Oregon State almost broke the weekend’s clean slate in the 88th minute Sunday, but the shot was stopped right on the line by redshirt sophomore John Pothast. Pothast was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week.
“The two central defenders and the goaltender are like firemen,” Bennett said. “They are damage control. When we’re at our worst they’ve got to be at their best. He was.”
The backline saw a lot of turnover this weekend after senior Sebastian Jansson was injured on Friday and senior Brady Wahl became ill before the Oregon State. Redshirt freshmen Driton Zyteja and Jack Alberts made their first starts for Marquette on Sunday.
“The better we become the more common it is for guys to have an introductory year,” Bennett said. “Sometimes then it takes a while for them to kick in when they get their opportunities. But those two, I thought they did very well.”
“If we can rotate guys and still maintain our performance, it’s perfect,” Sjoberg said.
Marquette is back in action Saturday against the Drake Bulldogs at 7:05 pm at Valley Fields.
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