Marquette women’s soccer entered Sunday afternoon looking for a split on its two-game road trip to open up the 2022 season.
And the Golden Eagles did just that, defeating Central Michigan 2-1 at in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Marquette’s first-half woes from its season opener loss to No. 16 Notre Dame did not continue Sunday afternoon.
After controlling possession early on, the Golden Eagles had their first opportunity to strike early in the 20th minute. However, junior midfielder Alex Campana’s shot went far left keeping the game scoreless.
Then just before halftime, the Golden Eagles created another opportunity.
In the 44th minute, sophomore midfielder Molly Keiper sailed one into the box from the left corner. Keiper’s corner kick was deflected off of Central Michigan’s Maggie Basse into the net to put the Golden Eagles up 1-0.
The Golden Eagles’ second half would not be much different.
In the 58th minute, senior midfielder Elizabeth Buechkers drew a foul inside the box giving the Golden Eagles a penalty kick.
Junior midfielder Isabella Cook took the shot and put it past Emma Shingler to expand Marquette’s lead to 2-0. It was Cook first career Marquette goal after transferring from Tennessee.
Central Michigan broke the scoring drought in the 80th minute on a header from Megan Logue that beat Marquette senior goalkeeper Mikki Easter.
Marquette outnumbered Central Michigan virtually in every statistic, including outshooting the Chippewas 9-8.
Easter finished with two saves on the afternoon. Meanwhile Shingler had three saves in the contest.
Sophomore midfielder Julia O’Neill earned her first start of the season. The Smithton, Illinois native saw 68 minutes of action.
Junior forward Elsi Twombly, sophomore forward Kate Gibson, senior defender Emma Tabor and Buechkers all saw extended minutes on the afternoon. In 70 minutes off the bench, Gibson recorded a game-high three shots.
The Golden Eagles improve to 6-0-1 all-time against the Chippewas.
Next up for Marquette (1-1) will be its home opener against cross-town rival University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Aug. 25 at 7:30 pm CST at Valley Fields.
This article was written by John Leuzzi. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JohnLeuzziMU.
