Marquette men’s soccer was hoping to avoid its fourth straight loss.
They were not able to do that though, as the UConn Huskies (7-5-1, 3-2 Big East) used three unanswered goals to take down the Golden Eagles (7-5-1, 1-4 Big East) 3-2 Saturday night at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium.
Out of the gates hot
Marquette wasted no time getting the scoring started in this one, as a short corner fed into the box would find the head of senior defender Jai Hsieh-Bailey who would score his first career goal to put the Golden Eagles up 1-0 in the 5th minute.
ICYMI: Jai Hsieh-Bailey’s header from Edrey Caceres 🔥🔥#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/AbaY3iFhb4
Story continues below advertisement— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) October 15, 2023
Then, in the 31st minute, senior forward Beto Soto would find the back of the net for his third goal of the season, putting Marquette up 2-0.
The scoring wouldn’t stop though, as a blocked shot in the 43rd minute found first-year midfielder Kieran Chandler who cut Marquette’s lead to 2-1 going into halftime.
The Huskies storm back
The second half was quiet until the 67th minute, when graduate student forward Brooklyn Merl received a red card for shoving a member of the Huskies’ coaching staff.
After the booking, it was all UConn.
An own goal by the Golden Eagles in the 71st minute and a goal scored by junior forward Scott Testori in the 81st minute would result in Marquette blowing a two goal advantage for the first time this season.
With the loss, the Golden Eagles still haven’t won a game since Sept. 23.
Statistical leaders
Soto, along with his goal, accounted for a team-high four shots, putting two of them on target.
For UConn, Testori led the Huskies with two shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert had two saves on the night.
Up next
The Golden Eagles return home to Valley Fields on Wednesday to take on Depaul. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m CST.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.
