The Marquette women’s soccer team put on an offensive clinic Thursday night, dismantling the Creighton Bluejays 7-2 in the Big East opener.
Coach Markus Roeders said defeating Creighton as they did was a statement win for the Golden Eagles.
“It’s great to start the Big East with a win,” Roeders said.
The Golden Eagles (5-5-1) started firing on all cylinders early in the match, scoring its first goal just four minutes into the match. Junior defender Haley Fritzlen scored her first career goal when she deflected in senior midfielder Mary Luba’s corner kick.
Fritzlen’s goal ignited a night where Marquette set a season high for shots and goals.
Leading the pack for the Golden Eagles was Luba, as she notched six points on the night. Luba scored two goals, the first coming in the 14th minute when she picked the ball eight yards out and went far post. Luba’s second came in the second half, scoring just 21 seconds after Creighton scored its second of the night.
Even with Luba’s stunning performance, it was junior defender Jacie Jermier and sophomore midfielder Meegan Johnston. Jermier got the ball off a Luba free kick and launched a beautiful strike that went bardown to give the Golden Eagles a 4-1 lead. In the second half, Johnston rocketed a shot from 35 yards out and snuck it over the Bluejay keeper to give Marquette the 6-2 lead.
What made the game successful for the Golden Eagles, besides the multitude of goals, was time of possession. Marquette controlled play early on, and after Fritzlen’s goal set the tone, the Golden Eagles continued to dominate play. Creighton didn’t even register a shot on goal until Corder scored the Bluejays’ first goal of the game in the 25th minute.
Roeders said getting the scoring efficiency he was looking for was a big plus for the team.
“It’s great to start the Big East with a win,” Roeders said. “The finishing is fantastic. I thought we had some great stretches in there … anytime you score seven goals, in some ways we scored them, you have to be pleased.”
The only hiccup for the Golden Eagle backline was on Creighton’s second goal. Creighton’s Sullivan blasted past the Marquette defense to get in on Engel all-alone and put it far post to get the Bluejays within two. But with Luba’s goal 21 seconds later, the team deflated and Marquette was able to pile it on.
Roeders said the team still hasn’t played a full 90 minutes, but it close to being so.
“Have to be a little disappointed in the way we let Creighton score their first goal on a set play,” Roeders said. “I thought we could have done a little bit of a better job.”
But with a win such as theirs, the Golden Eagles have to be happy with the performance they had against Creighton. Roeders said it was the way the team wanted to start conference play.
“For us, the most important is to have won another game,” Roeders said. “Three points in the league and take us another step forward.”
The Golden Eagles will welcome Villanova to Valley Fields Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
