Marquette’s chances of getting into the BIG EAST Tournament took a nonfatal blow Saturday as the Xavier Musketeers beat them 1-0. The Golden Eagles now sit at sixth place in the conference, good enough to get the last spot in the tournament if the season ended today.

Redshirt freshman Noah Heim was in goal instdad of Luis Barraza and was able to make four saves, although he wasn’t able to stop the goal that ultimately sunk Marquette. In the 48th minute, defenseman Brendan Skinner headed a ball up into the air. As it came down to the ground, two Golden Eagle defenders were unable to clear it, and Xavier’s Josh Wood shot it into the goal after it deflected off a defender.

Early in the first half, Marquette had a similarly good chance at scoring: a header from forward Jason Davis that sailed just over the crossbar. However, that was the best chance Marquette would get as the teams headed into the break at 0-0.

After the goal, Marquette was able to muster some chances but it was not enough. The few attempted crosses that made it into the box were saved by Musketeer keeper Colin Hanley.

Head coach Louis Bennett thought that while the players created some good chances, they didn’t play a complete match.

“We lost our way in small moments in the game,” Bennett said. “We had very few mistakes, but for 85 percent of the game, we equipped ourselves well, it was just in the crucial moments where we’d have a defensive lapse.”

Marquette will have a do-or-die week ahead, as the Golden Eagles host Creighton on Wednesday and then No.19 Butler on Saturday night.

Bennett said that the team has suffered a good amount of injuries and they will have to see who is fit enough to play.

“We’re trying to piece together a squad and we’re trying to find out what we can do given the personnel we have,” Bennett said. “This has been a season full of injuries and we’ve never had the same lineup. We’ll try to play the best lineup we can.”