Marquette included in Nico Mannion’s final four schools
Five-star point guard recruit Nico Mannion has announced his top four schools, and Marquette has made the cut.
Both 247Sports and ESPN rank Mannion 17th in the class of 2019. 247Sports ranks Mannion the second-best point guard in the nation and also the top player in Arizona.
The other three schools include Villanova, Duke and Arizona. 247Sports reports Mannion has his highest interest in Arizona.
Women’s soccer selected third in preseason poll
Marquette has been picked to finish third in the BIG EAST preseason poll for the second consecutive season. Additionally, forward Carrie Madden was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team.
Madden started in 15 out of the 17 matches she appeared in and lead the team with 19 points on seven goals and five assists last season.
She also had three game-winning goals in conference play on her way to a selection to the 2017 All-BIG EAST First Team. Both her sophomore and junior year, Madden was on the BIG EAST All-Championship Team.
Women’s soccer begins Thursday at Cal Poly
Marquette women’s soccer will have its season opener Aug. 16 against Cal Poly at 9 p.m. in San Luis Obispo, California.
Last season the Mustangs had a losing record of 7-9-3 overall while finishing 2-4-2 in the Big West. The team played 14 games decided by a one-goal differential in 2017. Cal Poly lost its star player, senior midfielder Megan Abutin, after she graduated in May. Abutin led the team with 15 points on six goals and three assists.
While the Mustangs lost their top player, starting goalkeeper Sophia Brown will be returning for her junior season. Last season she played 1,377 minutes in 15 starts, including four shutouts and 71 saves. She was third in the conference with 4.7 saves per conference match.
In preseason, Marquette beat Green Bay 2-0 Aug. 7 but fell to Mississippi State 1-0 Aug. 11.