When freshman Alyssa Bombacino found out she was about to make her first career start, she said she realized this was a unique opportunity.
“I was really excited,” Bombacino said. “For me, this is a big opportunity … (Head coach Markus Roeders) told me to work hard and go out there because we needed to keep the ball in the midfield.”
And she made the most of that opportunity, scoring her third career goal to give Marquette a 1-0 win over St. John’s and give the team its first BIG EAST win of 2018.
“She’s really growing into her role … I couldn’t be happier for her,” Roeders said. “That’s what you want out of a talented freshman.”
The deciding goal came in the 78th minute from the right side of the box. She cut through the defense and hit the shot from about 15 yards out.
“I always try to make runs through the box, and Abby (Hess) is pretty good at holding them off,” Bombacino said. “While she was holding them off, I was trying to make a slashing run.”
Thirteen different Marquette players recorded at least one shot in the win. Redshirt senior Carrie Madden and junior Emily Hess were the only Golden Eagles to have more than two shots.
“I like scoring by committee,” Roeders said. “If you only have one or two (goal-scorers), it’s a little easier for the other team to zone in on them.”
St. John’s had a 20-19 shot advantage in Sunday’s contest thanks to significant contributions from Christina Bellero and Samie Scaffidi. Bellero and Scaffidi combined for 12 of the Red Storm’s 20 shots.
The win came despite Marquette’s lethargic offensive start. St. John’s had seven of the first eight shots in the match.
“We started out a bit slow coming out of the gate,” Roeders said. “But then we worked our way into the game more and more.”
Marquette’s junior goalkeeper Maddy Henry finished the afternoon with seven saves.
Marquette (3-8-1, 1-2 BIG EAST) will look for consecutive conference wins Thursday against the DePaul Blue Demons at Valley Fields. Marquette has won nine of 10 games at Valley Fields against DePaul.
The Golden Eagles will then play three of their next four games on the road.
