Marquette women’s soccer kicked off the season with road losses to two power conference teams. Friday night Marquette dropped a 2-1 decision to Nebraska, before heading to Rock Chalk Park Sunday where they lost to 1-0 Kansas. The two losses put the Golden Eagles at an 0-2 mark after the first weekend of play.
Goalkeeper Maddy Henry’s Marquette career got off to an abrupt start when the Cornhuskers’ Meg Brandt tallied a fifth minute goal to make it 1-0. Just 15 minutes later Sydney Miramontez saw her corner kick sneak past Henry and midfielder Morgan Proffitt, doubling Nebraska’s lead.
In the 32nd minute Marquette’s Carrie Madden played a ball into the box for Liz Bartels, who slid to finish the scoring chance, notching the Golden Eagles’ first goal of the year. That strike was Bartels’ 11th career goal.
Marquette fired one shot more than Nebraska in the first half but the whistle blew with a 2-1 Huskers lead.
In the second half the Golden Eagles had three shots to Nebraska’s one but there was no scoring from either side. Both keepers were forced to make a save in the second half.
There were encouraging moments for Markus Roeders’ side, but they could not find an equalizer.
“Losing is always tough to swallow,” Roeders said. “In each game we saw some positives.”
Roeders’ squad had a chance to bounce back on Sunday in Lawrence, but they did not seize the opportunity. From the start Kansas looked like the more organized side, maintaining possession well and winning it back quickly when it was surrendered.
It was another busy night for Henry, who made four saves in an impressive outing. However, the Jayhawks scored the only goal of the contest in the 19th minute when freshman Mandi Duggan dove to head home a Morgan Williams cross that narrowly beat center backs Erin Holland and Madison Dunker. Duggan’s powerful header stayed low, beating Henry on her right side for Duggan’s first career goal.
“(Henry) has been great,” Roeders said. “You have to consider she’s a freshman, coming in and playing at the college level. … She has a tremendous amount of confidence.”
Kansas stepped up the pressure after that, firing shot after shot at Henry, but she had help from teammates too. In the aftermath of a 37th minute corner Kansas rifled a point blank shot at the goal, but freshman Emily Hess blocked the shot and cleared the danger. Hess played 54 minutes at fullback in her Marquette debut. Bartels also made a crucial stop when she headed away a certain goal in the 59th minute.
Despite the result, there were positives for Marquette. The team grew into the game and looked like scoring for a stretch in the second half. Morgan Proffitt was more involved up the field as the game went on, she took two shots in the contest.
“These games are decided by small margins,” Roeders said. “We just have to keep shoring things up in all areas.”
Darian Powell made two brief cameos over the weekend, totaling 11 minutes of play. The senior led the team in scoring the last two seasons, but missed the first contest while recovering from injury. Her presence leading the front line is sorely missed. No other player on the roster has proven to be as lethal a finisher as Powell.
“At some point we have to see some goals in the net and on the scoreboard and good things will start happening,” Roeders said.
Marquette (0-2) has one more road game Thursday at Illinois State (0-2) before their home opener Sunday afternoon against Michigan (1-0-1).
