Marquette men’s soccer needed a win to keep its Big East Tournament hopes alive.

However, they would not get one, as the No. 7 Georgetown Hoyas (11-2-2) used a pair of goals to propel themselves over the Golden Eagles (7-6-3, 1-5-2) 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Valley Fields.

“It’s a tough task when you play against one of, if not the best team in the country,” Marquette head coach Louis Bennett said.

With the loss, the Golden Eagles have failed to reach the Big East Tournament for the third season in a row.

For Georgetown, Saturday’s win clinched the Hoyas their fifth Big East regular season title in a row, setting a new conference record.

Hoyas offense stays hot

Georgetown came into the match ranking top three in the Big East in goals, goals per game and assists. Saturday afternoon, it lived up to those rankings.

A header from a corner kick scored by junior defender Maximus Jennings in the 32nd minute got the Hoyas on the board first.

GOAL Jennings!
Georgetown 1
Marquette 0
32′#HoyaSaxa pic.twitter.com/k0YgL8JcBI

— Georgetown Men’s Soccer (@GUHoyasMSoccer) October 28, 2023

Then, in the 73rd minute, Georgetown doubled its lead on a goal off the foot of sophomore forward Jacob Murrell. 

The goal marked Murrell’s 11th of the season, a team high.

Statistical leaders

Senior defender Dominik Danis’ goal in the 76th minute would be the lone highlight for the Golden Eagles’ offense.

For the Hoyas, Murrell put all four of his shots on target and senior goalkeeper Ryan Schewe tallied three saves.

First half battle

Both squads traded chances in the first 30 minutes.

Shots on goal by junior forward Abdoul Karim Pare and senior forward Beto Soto would highlight Marquette’s offensive output in the first half, as the squad as a whole would tally four shots on goal.

However, they would not have anything to show for it on the scoreboard, as Marquette went into the locker room at the half trailing 1-0.

“In the first half, we hit the post. We had some chances, they had some chances,” Bennett said. “It was really a lot of back and forth, and that’s been the case with our team this year.”

The end of the road

After its sixth straight win to begin the season coming against the No. 21 Wisconsin Badgers on Sept. 1, Marquette jumped up to No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, its highest ranking since 2021. 

However, after that win against Wisconsin, the Golden Eagles would go 1-6-3 the rest of the way, including a four game losing streak in early October.

“The four game slide was really disappointing,” Bennett said. “I think that’s where we showed our immaturity.”

This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.