The Golden Eagles may not have won this weekend, but there was certainly improvement.
“The things we worked on last week were light years ahead of where we were in terms of the things we wanted to do,” Marquette head coach Joe Amplo said. “We’re not there yet, and that’s O.K. … I’m pleased with our progression.”
Marquette fell 10-8 to the High Point Panthers, the third straight scrimmage loss. Amplo chalked up the lack of execution to High Point being a week ahead of Marquette’s schedule. The issues the team is having with clears will be cleaned up before the opener in two weeks.
“Honestly, I think we’re ahead of last year,” Amplo said. “Walking out of this scrimmage last year I remember saying ‘God, we’re terrible.'”
Ryan McNamara and Blaine Fleming each had two goals. Conor Gately, Kyran Clarke, John Wagner and Zach Barr scored one apiece.
The scrimmage was Clarke’s first game action since returning from injury and Amplo said he appeared to have some rust.
“I don’t think he was at his best,” Amplo said. “He knew it.”
Gately, Wagner and Clarke played a majority of the game at attack as the team continues to get a feel for the comfort level as a whole.
“I was probably a little bit disappointed in our offense in the second half,” Amplo said. “We turned the ball over three times in a row when it was really a one-goal game.”
B.J. Grill and Liam Byrnes played a bit more than half the game, since High Point’s two best offensive players, Dan Lomas and Matt Thistle, did not play. That gave playing time to Marquette junior Nicholas Eufrasio, sophomore Matt Lanza and junior Ryan Geller. Amplo was very pleased with Eufrasio’s play.
Amplo said the reserves played well a week after he said no one impressed him in the Michigan scrimmage. The teams played two extra quarters, which were not counted on the scoreboard, to get more players involved.
“They did a good job,” Amplo said. “Much better than last week. Not even close to the way they were the week before. It was truthfully the way we practiced last week. The things that we had to work on, getting to the right spots on a clear, recognizing clearing situations and executing that stuff made the game a lot easier for them.”
Marquette will end the preseason with a tough tune-up against No. 15 Cornell.
