The last time Marquette men’s soccer won on the road was in 2021. Until tonight.
The Golden Eagles (7-1-1, 1-1 Big East) won their first Big East game this season, beating the Butler Bulldogs (1-5-1, 1-1 Big East) 2-0 in Indianapolis Saturday night.
With the win, Marquette ends its winless streak of two games.
Setting the tone
Marquette took an early lead after junior forward Abdoul Karim Pare took advantage of a miscommunication and scored his second goal of the season.
Pare stole he ball and chipped it over the head of Butler redshirt senior goalkeeper Caleb Norris in the 23rd minute to gave the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.
MU strikes first! Golden Eagles lead 1-0#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/8kdAds1i5I
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) September 23, 2023
Even though the Bulldogs had three corner kicks in the first half, the Golden Eagles’ defense fended the attack, going into the locker room up 1-0.
In the first 45 minutes, Marquette totaled nine shots compared to Butler’s three.
Statistical leaders
Senior forward Beto Soto led the Golden Eagles with five shots, putting two of them on goal. First-year forward Ryan Amond tallied two shots on goal.
Butler sophomore forward Palmer Ault, the 2022 Big East Freshman of the Year, finished with two shots. Norris totaled eight saves in the match for the Bulldogs.
Keeping it going
Butler had a few chances to start the second half, but Marquette’s defense stood up to the task.
Graduate student forward Brooklyn Merl resumed his scoring in the 66th minute, putting one in the back of the net to double the Golden Eagles’ lead. The goal marked Merl’s sixth of the season.
Marquette’s defense held tough again after Merl’s goal and sophomore goalkeeper Ludvig Malberg tallied his fourth clean sheet of the season.
Up next
Marquette returns home to take on St. John’s (4-3-1, 0-1 Big East) next Friday at Valley Fields. Kick off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CST.
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached on at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU
