Can we say a thing out loud real quick?
Marquette hasn’t won a match against a Division 1 opponent since August 16th. I’m writing this on September 17th.
That win was the visit to North Dakota State. After that, MU beat Truman State, which is not a D1 squad, and they haven’t won since. In fact, they’ve only scored two goals since then, and that’s across five matches. Before Kiley McMinn’s equalizer against Loyola Chicago last time out, Marquette hadn’t scored a goal in three straight matches.
Yes, leading
scorer Megan Murray is out at the Asian Games. Murray also hasn’t scored since the second match of the year, so being without her last week against Baylor and Loyola wasn’t exactly that much of an issue from that perspective. MU is coming up short in converting their chances.
That’s the real problem, by the way. Converting chances to goals, finishing the ball into the net. Marquette is outshooting their opponents on average, 12.6 to 10.5. Marquette has 50 shots on goal this season to just 32 given up. Just barely short of half of their shots — 50 of 101, it’s really a math issue more than a falling short issue — have been on frame….. but only 12 of the 50 have gone in, and only one in the last four contests.
I don’t know what the solution is here for head coach Chris Allen. The process seems to generally speaking be working. MU is generating clean looks at the net, they’re just getting gobbled up by opposing keepers more than you’d like. The defense seems to be working just fine to limit problems for freshman keeper Mia Hurd to solve, and to her credit, she’s standing up admirably. A heavy part of falling to Baylor by a score of just 1-0 is because Hurd kept the Bears out of her net. She’s third in the Big East in goals-against average and second in save percentage at .897. The only reason she’s not first is because Hannah Dickinson — the Big East Preseason Keeper of the Year! — hasn’t allowed a goal in six matches.
The only drawback to Hurd’s otherwise quality performance this season is that she’s second in saves per match. Generally speaking, Making A Lot Of Saves is not actually indicative of a good defense overall. It’s working for Marquette at the moment, but Big East play is right around the corner, literally in MU’s very next match after Saturday.
I think it would be beneficial for Marquette to find a way to break the dam open in this non-conference finale, but as we’ll get to in a second, that’s easier said than done. If they can find a way to unleash a few goals heading into league action, that will keep things on a positive trend this year.
But if it’s another scoreless draw? That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it won’t be a great sign, either.
Match #9: vs Eastern Illinois Panthers (2-3-3)
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Time: 6pm Central
Location: Valley Fields, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Bluesky Updates: @AnonymousEagle
Marquette is 2-0-0 all time against Eastern Illinois. Both matches were back in the 1990s, with one in Milwaukee and one as part of an event hosted by UW-Madison. Marquette won both by way of shutout, going 2-0 in 1995 and 1-0 in 1997.
There has been a zero involved in every single Eastern Illinois result so far this season. Two wins, both by shutout. Three losses, all by shutout, two by a score of just 1-0. Three draws, all scoreless. That includes last Sunday’s match at Cincinnati, and if you measure it all out together, EIU hasn’t scored a goal in over 285 minutes. That goes back to their 75th minute goal to wrap up a 3-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on August 30th.
The end result of this is that Eastern Illinois is getting outscored on the year overall, 10-5…. but the fact remains that they lost 8-0 to Purdue. Throw that bad boy outta there — and its 40-4 shot differential! — then you’ve got a 5-2 advantage in goals in EIU’s other seven matches. That also balances their shots out to 83 against and 57 for. That’s not good for them, but it’s potentially great for Marquette as long as the Golden Eagles can find a way to finish.
That’s not a guarantee, as Ella Kratochvil has five shutouts between the wins and draws this season. The 5’11” senior from Wind Lake, Wisconsin, was the Ohio Valley Goalkeeper of the Year last season, recording eight shutouts and stopping 84% of shots on frame. That 8-0 against Purdue is weighing on her stats this season, which is why her goals-against is 1.25 even with the shutouts. She still finished positive on the day in saves and goals allowed against the Boilermakers, which has helped her keep that save percentage north of 82% right now.
With just five goals scored, obviously EIU doesn’t have a points powerhouse on that end of the field. Alex Tetteh is the leader with two even though the senior missed two matches and didn’t start in two other contests. Abby Reinl is tied with Tetteh for points because she has a goal and a team high two assists. Reinl is leading the squad in shots with 13, but Tetteh is right behind her with 11 even though she’s played 150 fewer minutes.
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