It appeared that the Golden Eagles were going to play in their third overtime of the season until junior Jake Taylor’s goal in the 85th minute made sure the triple header at Valley Fields continued to run on time.
“I don’t think I’ve ever run to a bench that fast,” Taylor said.
A cross from junior Louis Bennett II found the head of redshirt junior John Pothast, who deflected the ball further in the box. Nebraska-Omaha keeper Emir Alihodzic overran the ball, which landed right in front of Taylor. He was able to find the empty net, sending his teammates into a fervor. The goal was enough to lift Marquette to a 1-0 victory against Omaha.
“C. Nortey is supposed to run across the goalie to make him miss basically,” Taylor said. “So C. did his job and kind of fell. I saw it and had to make sure I wasn’t going to miss.”
The goal was Taylor’s first of the season.
“If I had missed that shot I probably would have cried,” he said.
The Golden Eagles discussed the tactics that would lead to the goal at half said Bennett. The goal was to give Alihodzic nowhere to go.
“We created a no-man’s land,” Bennett said. “It was a difficult ball to defend. Our guys did a really nice job of serving the ball and flicking the ball, and Jake Taylor uses a right foot that he doesn’t often use. I think the shoe was almost new.”
The shutout marks freshman keeper Luis “Wicho” Barraza’s first clean sheet of his collegiate career. He made some of the best saves he’d has thus far at Marquette, showing off his ability to change direction.
“I believe this is the standard I want to continue for the rest of the season,” Barraza said.
The Golden Eagles came into the season with a goalie by committee mentality, but Barraza has earned the start in every game.
“I thought today he pulled off two phenomenal saves,” Bennett said. “He’s long and very quick. I told him that he was worth a shutout today.”
Marquette hasn’t been in many low scoring games this season, which was more the mantra of last season. Bennett said it was good to see that the team can win in this form as well.
“Sometimes we’ve got to buckle down the hatches and make sure we don’t give too much away,” Bennett said.
The Golden Eagles will be back in action on Friday when they host the Northern Illinois Huskies at Valley Fields at 7pm.
