Marquette men’s soccer concludes its regular season Friday night against DePaul, facing a must-win situation. Marquette needs a win and some help to make it into the Big East tournament, and possibly to keep its NCAA hopes alive.
DePaul has already been eliminated from conference tournament contention, but will try to play spoiler in the Blue Demons’ season finale. The Blue Demons, 4-9-4 (1-5-2), are riding an eight-game winless streak. Their only victory in Big East play was back in September, when they defeated Seton Hall.
The Marquette defense will not have to worry about facing a potent offense this week. DePaul has scored only three goals during the winless streak. They were held scoreless in the first five matches of the streak.
It will be a reunion for redshirt junior David Selvaggi, who played his first two college seasons at DePaul. Selvaggi’s 11-point season is tied with sophomore Louis Bennett II for second on the team.
The Golden Eagles are riding a winless streak of their own, which is now at six matches. The team tied its last match 3-3 with Seton Hall, the first time the Golden Eagles scored more than one goal during the skid.
The Golden Eagles started on a tear in non-conference play, rattling off a six-match winning streak. Despite the less-than-ideal situation, Marquette knows its dreams for this season have not been squashed just yet.
The first five schools – Creighton, Providence, Xavier, Georgetown and Villanova – have all clinched spots in the Big East tournament. However, the seeding can still change based on the final week’s results. There are three schools, including Marquette, vying for the final spot in the tournament.
The scenarios most directly tied to the Golden Eagles are their own game and Butler’s match against Xavier. If Marquette wins and Butler loses or ties, the Golden Eagles clinch the sixth spot in the rankings. If Butler wins, the result of Marquette’s match does not matter. If Marquette loses or ties, the Golden Eagles will be eliminated.
If Butler does not win, it still has a shot at making the tournament. The Bulldogs need Marquette to lose or tie and Seton Hall to lose against St. John’s. If Seton Hall wins and Butler and Marquette loses, the Pirates will claim the sixth spot.
This is the second straight year Marquette closes out its regular season against DePaul. Last year, the Blue Devils defeated the Golden Eagles 2-1 in Chicago.
Action kicks off at Valley Fields at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles will be honoring their seniors as usual in likely their final match at Valley Fields. This year’s class includes midfielder Sebastian Jansson, goalkeeper Charlie Lyon, midfielder Luis Trude and midfielder Brady Wahl.
