For 22 minutes Thursday night, it looked as if Marquette was finally getting their win after losing or tying its first five matches. A Jamie Kutey goal in the 47th minute gave the team its second lead in all of 2018.
Then reality set in, faltering late to surrender a 2-1 loss to Colorado.
“At the end of the day, we have to play 90 minutes,” head coach Markus Roeders said. “We’re playing a good schedule, and with the mistakes, there’s not much that is forgiven.”
Colorado’s first goal came in the 69th minute. Goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins’ free kick set up a Marquette own goal. It was a continuation of Marquette’s issues defending set pieces.
“The wheels came off a little bit,” Roeders said. “We’ve had (goals off set plays) a few times this year.”
The Buffaloes struck again in the 85th minute to take the lead. A Kelsey Aaknes pass set up a Megan Massey header from eight yards out.
“It’s unfortunate that we conceded a goal with five minutes left,” Roeders said. “Then it’s obviously an uphill.”
After seven Marquette shots in the first 25 minutes of the second half, the Golden Eagles had only two in the last 20 minutes.
“Once we score, we’re a little bit hesitant on whether we should drop a little bit and conserve a little bit more of our energy,” Kutey said. “We just need to keep that energy going. Once we score that goal, we need to go for a second and a third just to keep momentum going.”
Kutey’s goal in the 47th minute was her first in nearly a year. It was also the team’s first goal from someone other than Carrie Madden this season. This goal snapped the team’s streak of 205 minutes without a goal.
“It felt really good,” Kutey said. “It’s really important for us to get that first goal … Coming out really strong in the second half gave us that little burst.”
A sliding Katrina Wetherell one-touch pass went just past Colorado goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins’ reach, setting up the perfect shot from a yard out by Kutey.
In the loss, Marquette goalkeeper Maddy Henry had 11 saves.
Marquette will play again Sunday on the road at Drake. The Golden Eagles are 2-0-1 in program history against the Bulldogs.
The team’s 0-5-1 start is the worst in program history. No other BIG EAST team has less than two wins. Through the first 560 minutes of 2018, Marquette has led for only 32 minutes.
“We tell the underclassmen that it is college soccer,” Kutey said. “It’s going to be rough. It’s going to be uncomfortable at times … But you just have to go out there and play your hardest and hope for the best.”
