The Big East opener game was no joke for either team.

Marquette men’s soccer (5-3-1, 1-0 Big East) opened conference play and kept Villanova (0-4-3, 0-1 Big East) winless this season, as they took a 3-2 win Friday afternoon.

Thanks to a 67th minute goal by sophomore defender Ryan Amond, it took the Golden Eagles just one match to earn as many total conference wins as they did last season (one).

Possessions create opportunities

Villanova kicked off the scoring six minutes into the match when graduate midfielder Branden Johns connected with graduate midfielder Colby Raymond for the first goal of the afternoon.

Counter attacks and quickly timed decisions were what changed the pace of the game. The Golden Eagles saw opportunities and tried to take advantage of them. By the end of the match, Maquette had 24 shots (15 on goal) compared to the Wildcats’ 15 (Eight on goal).

Junior midfielder Gabe Anguil, first year defender Jack Wandschneider and sophomore forward Antonio Costabile almost made timely shots all in the matter of seconds, but weren’t able to make any see the back of the net.

Marquette’s offense kept Villanova first year goalkeeper Alex Yagudayev busy all afternoon, as he ended the match with a season-high 12 saves on 15 shots faced.

Penalty Party

It didn’t take long before the Golden Eagles answered the Wildcats’ seventh minute goal.

After a handball from the Villanova, Marquette was awarded a penalty kick. It was junior midfielder Mitar Mitrovic who stepped up in the ninth minute and nailed the shot to tie the game.

But he wouldn’t stop there. The Wildcats committed another foul inside the box just 13 minutes later, leading to another penalty for Mitrovic. After leading Yagudayev to believe he was going right, Mitrovic easily deposited the ball into the left side of the net to put the Golden Eagles up 2-1.

22′ | MU – 2 | NOVA – 1

MU takes the lead!

Villanova with a foul in the box

Mitrovic with his second PK of the match!#WeAreMarquette | #MarquetteSoccer pic.twitter.com/yS1QgCXXUt

— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) September 20, 2024

Mitrovic is now 3-for-3 on penalties this season.

Up Next

The Golden Eagles will head back to Valley Fields Sept. 28 to take on the Butler Bulldogs (3-2-2, 0-0 Big East). The match is set to start at 7 p.m. CST. 

This recap was written by Raquel Ruiz. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @RaquelRuiz.