In the fourth minute, senior Madison Dunker, playing in possibly her final home game, launched a free kick from about 40 yards out. On the other end, midfielder Carrie Madden quickly ran past her marker and headed it into the left corner of the net.
“Dunker served the ball in long,” Madden said. “I was just able to beat my defender and get a head on it.”
But that was just the beginning for Madden and the Golden Eagles Sunday as they routed Creighton 3-0 behind Madden’s second brace in her last five matches.
“That first goal, that set a great tone for us,” head coach Markus Roeders said. “Obviously we had a lot of shots today.”
Madden struck again in the 63rd minute, firing a shot from the left edge of the box. It hit Creighton goalkeeper McKenzie Meola, but Meola could not get a grip on the ball.
“It was one-v-one on the outside on the left side,” Madden said. “I cut into the right foot and then I hit a shot and the goalie bobbled it or something.”
Madden’s recent surge in offense comes weeks after a nagging quad injury kept her out of the starting lineup for almost a month.
“It definitely feels good to be back on the field (and) being able to contribute as much as I can,” Madden said. “And be healthy and put some away for my team.”
Marquette’s third goal came in the 84th minute. Redshirt sophomore Hailey VanDerLeest passed the ball into open ground, allowing redshirt freshman Hess to out-sprint the Creighton backline and perfect the one-touch goal.
“Abby made a great run. It was a great slotted ball in,” Roeders said. “Those are the moments that in her role – somebody that comes off the bench – those are important moments and that’s what you play for.”
Madden’s standout performance could not have been better timed. Marquette’s win, along with Villanova’s loss and St. John’s loss, secured a BIG EAST tourney berth. The Golden Eagles could steal a first round home game with a win and a Xavier tie or loss.
“It hits you toward the end of the season that you only have a few games left,” Madden said. “So we’re trying to capitalize on what we have and make the season go as long as possible.”
Roeders echoed that same sense of urgency as the team fights for its second consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
“We want to make some noise,” Roeders said. “We don’t want the season to end tomorrow or Thursday or next Sunday. We want to live another day and every game right now for us is a final.”
