Marquette men’s soccer fell to the Creighton Bluejays 1-0 in a rematch of last season’s BIG EAST Tournament semifinal in which Marquette won via penalty kicks.
“It was a great game,” head coach Louis Bennett said. We played well. (Creighton) is one of the top teams in the country, and on a day where we had to play good soccer, we played good soccer. We just didn’t finish.”
Marquette had plenty of opportunities, firing 17 total shots and eight shots on goal.
“We were having chances, and we were snatching at them, but the (Creighton) goalkeeper was making great saves,” Bennett said. “The amount of chances we had today was enough to score at least one goal.”
Sophomore forward Lukas Sunesson led the Golden Eagles with five shots.
“It gives me confidence when I can take on the great defenders in this conference,” Sunesson said. “I’m just going to have to build on that and hopefully score some goals in the future too.
“I think it would have been a great game for a player who works that hard, to finish,” Bennett said.
Luka Prpa made his third appearance of the season, playing a season-high 55 minutes. He has missed time after undergoing foot surgery in the offseason.
Bennett praised Prpa for his strong play in the match as he continues his return from injury.
“He’s a great player,” Bennett said. “When we can get the ball to (Prpa) … when we can get the ball to our playmakers, it’s a game-changer.”
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Jackson Weyman made three saves for the Golden Eagles on four Creighton shots on goal.
Creighton goalkeeper Collin Valvida tallied eight saves and earned his first clean sheet of the season.
With the loss, the Golden Eagles move to 2-3-1 on the season and 0-1-0 in BIG EAST play.
“We showed today and in games before that we can create a lot of chances,” Sunesson said. “We’ve just got to keep doing that and believe in ourselves.”
Marquette’s next matchup is against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison on Tuesday at 7 p.m. as it tries to halt a two-game losing streak
“The next game comes around so fast, we can’t dwell in the doldrums of a loss,” Bennett said. “What we have to say is, ‘What could we have done better? Why couldn’t we put the ball in the back of the net and what can we do to put the ball in the back of the net?”
