After losing its first two conference matches, Marquette women’s soccer earned its first point in the BIG EAST standings with a 1-1 draw against Creighton.
“Happy to get a point in BIG EAST. Points hopefully build up. Obviously (we) were looking for three points like any team that is in the race,” assistant coach Ashley Bares said. “Wind played a factor today and created some extra opportunities for us. We need to execute and put those away.”
In the ninth minute, Creighton sophomore midfielder Ansley Atkinson got her foot on the ball and got it past Marquette senior goalkeeper Maddy Henry to put the Bluejays on the scoreboard first.
Creighton had another scoring opportunity in the 22nd minute to score when Taryn Jabubowski took a penalty kick off a Maddy Monticello foul.
However, the wind was on the Golden Eagles’ side this time as Jabubowski’s shot hit off the left post.
Marquette had some opportunities at the end of the first half but could not take advantage. Like in their loss Thursday to Providence, the Golden Eagles had a much stronger second half.
“We need to have better starts from the first whistle,” Bares said. “Definitely good that we were able to make those adjustments in the second half. They are coachable and doing great that way but we need to play a full 90 minute and not scrambling in those last 45 minutes.”
Junior forward Kylie Sprecher got a shot on net in the first two minutes of the second half, but Creighton goalkeeper Katie Sullivan saved it.
A few minutes later, sophomore midfielder Katrina Wetherell was fouled inside the box and then scored the equalizer on a penalty kick. It was Wetherell’s first goal of the season.
“We work on that (penalty kicks) in practice all the time,” Wetherell said. “It’s all practice and repetition. I just stayed calm and found a good spot to put it.”
Marquette went into its sixth overtime game of the season but only had a 1-4 record in overtime coming into Sunday.
“It is not ideal to get extra miles on their legs, so we are going to do everything we can to get them recovered and ready to go for these two great road games this week,” Bares said.
An extra twenty minutes was not enough to decide a winner of this game ended in a draw.
Despite Marquette’s improved second half, Creighton outshot Marquette 18-14, and the Golden Eagles could not convert on any of their 10 corner icks.
Henry finished with seven saves on the day, which was a match-high for both goalkeepers.
Both Bares and Wetherell said Sunday’s draw will be a confidence-booster as the Golden Eagles go on their east coast weekend trip.
“I think it is huge for us. It is a stepping block for us to keep going and hopefully get six points on the road,” Wetherell said.
Marquette (3-8-1, 0-2-1 BIG EAST) will head east to take on the St. John’s Red Storm Thursday at 6 p.m. Central Time.
“This team has kept there head up throughout the season. Every game they have learned from. They are fighters and they work really hard. Just need to keep their spirits high and hope everything comes together,” Bares said.
