After suffering their first loss of the season on Monday with a 1-0 defeat to Tulsa, No. 18 Marquette men’s soccer dropped its second-straight match on the road with a 3-0 defeat to Northern Illinois University Friday night.
In a battle between two 3-1 squads on the season, the hosts had complete control throughout the 90 minutes and gave the Golden Eagles their first two-game losing streak since 2019.
The Huskies started the scoring early, as in the 4th minute senior forward Nick Markanich slotted one past MU goalkeeper Chandler Hallwood to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
Markanich came into Friday’s contest tied for the third-most goals scored in the nation for Division 1 soccer. Including tonight’s performance, Markanich now has five goals in five games played for the Huskies.
Then in the 20th minute, senior defender Anthony Markanich doubled the Huskies lead after putting one past Hallwood off a corner kick.
Northern Illinois would not stop there.
The Huskies would then add a third goal in the 30th minute after a ball sent into the Golden Eagles box was deflected and ended up in the net past Hallwood, giving NIU a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Marquette’s three-goal deficit at the break was the most the team had trailed by so far this season. In addition, it was the Golden Eagles’ biggest deficit since losing 4-1 to Seton Hall in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals last season.
In the second half the Golden Eagles had chances to cut the Huskies lead but came away with nothing to show for it.
Marquette was outshot 18-7 by the Huskies on the night despite only trailing 6-3 when it came to shots on goal.
The Golden Eagles also failed to score for the second-straight match after scoring eight in their first three matches of the season.
Hallwood finished the contest with just three saves on the night while conceding three goals. The England native’s three goals allowed is tied for his second-most in one match for the redshirt junior in a Marquette uniform.
Marquette (3-2) will conclude their non-conference schedule Monday night when they host in-state Wisconsin at 7 p.m. CST at Valley Fields.
This article was written by Sam Arco. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @sam_i_am119.
