Marquette traveled University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2-4-1, 0-2 Horizon League), looking to get back in the winning column after losing its first game this season at Creighton last week.
But the Panthers’ defense held strong against the Golden Eagles’ second-half attack, ending 1-1 in Marquette’s first draw this season Tuesday night at Engelmann Stadium.
“Basically, it was fast and furious, then we fixed some things at halftime, and it was one-way traffic,” Marquette head coach Louis Bennett said. “I’m glad that our guys showed some style, I’m glad that our guys showed some poise, I’m glad we didn’t get wrapped up in the hurlyburly.”
The Golden Eagles (6-1-1, 0-1 Big East) have not won in their last two games, both of which happened on the road.
Statistical leaders
Graduate student forward Brooklyn Merl led Marquette with four shots, putting two of them on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Ludvig Malberg totaled five saves for the Golden Eagles.
Junior defender Raul Medina ended with the Panthers’ only goal along with three shots. Milwaukee junior goalkeeper Daniel Ibarra finished with three saves.
Clawing back
Milwaukee started the game hot, earning a penalty in the 4th minute, which Medina put in the back of the net to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead. The Golden Eagles missed all four of its shots and went into the locker room down 1-0.
In the second half, when Marquette needed a goal, first-year forward Ryan Amond answered the call.
In the 63rd minute, Amond received a pass from sophomore defender Kyle Bebej and put the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to tie the game 1-1.
62′ | MU – 1 | UWM – 1 | Ryan Amond nets his second goal of the season, the goal was assisted by Karim Pare and Kyle Bebej
#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/kvb3BWm2CB
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) September 20, 2023
“The intensity was much better in the second half; we started the game off slow,” Malberg said. The longer the game went on, we grew into it.”
Changing the attack
After tying the game up, the Golden Eagles pressed forward, looking to keep their scoring going.
Bennett made a tactical switch, flipping where junior forward Abdoul Karim Pare and senior forward Beto Soto were on the pitch.
“We flipped Karim and Beto so that their dominant foot was the side they were on,” Bennet said. “Once we did that, we started opening them up like a can of beans.”
Despite the change, Marquette was unable to take the lead after Ibarra saved two shots from Merl in the final 10 minutes, keeping the game 1-1.
The Golden Eagles tallied 11 shots in the second half, putting four of them on target.
Up next
Marquette continues its road swing against Butler (1-4-1, 1-0 Big East) Saturday in Indianapolis. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST.
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU
