While freshmen have been the center of attention for Marquette this season, it was one of Villanova’s that made the difference at Valley Fields Saturday night.
Marquette had no answers for 6-foot-4-inch forward Jacob Anderson, who scored two goals on headers to propel the Wildcats to a 2-1 comeback victory.
“It’s a concern that we missed our marks,” Marquette head coach Louis Bennett said. “We identified him as a big target. We couldn’t seem to contain him.”
Patrick Seagrist scored Marquette’s only goal in the 51st minute, firing a shot so hard that it deflected off the falling keeper and into the top of the net. It was his first goal of the season.
“I just touched it down to Toby (Howell), ran with him,and saw nobody else,” Seagrist said. “I touched it to the left and just shot.”
However, Marquette started to lose their command of the game in the late stages of the second half. Anderson scored his first in the 62nd minute, heading it into the upper near post. He gave Villanova the late lead in the 86th minute, helping the Wildcats take advantage of a Marquette foul on the right sideline.
“It was almost like they were lying in the weeds, waiting, working to try and stop us and then they had two similar crosses and finishes where we may have missed our marks,” Bennett said.
Great possession numbers in losses has become a trend for the Golden Eagles. Marquette dominated play in the first half and outshot Villanova 20 to seven in the game. However, Marquette wasn’t able to capitalize on serious scoring opportunities and was only able to get seven shots on goal.
“We had a lot of opportunities to score,” defender John Pothast said. “The big difference was our shots on goal to shots. They were more efficient.”
The Golden Eagles wasn’t won in their last four games, as Marquette played to draws in its previous three outings.
Wicho Barraza started in goal for the second game in a row, the first time Bennett hasn’t alternated goalies. He made two saves, and Bennett said the sophomore goalie didn’t have much of a chance on either Villanova goal.
Marquette is shooting for its first BIG EAST victory of the season Saturday when the Golden Eagles travel to Seton Hall. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
