Dear reader, it is safe to say that things were not looking so hot for Marquette women’s soccer on Sunday evening in Madison. They got outshot 6-2 before halftime, and then Wisconsin put up five of the first seven shots of the second half. That’s 11-4 Badgers in the shots department as the clock hit the 66 minute mark, and with Wisconsin starting off the year ranked and picking up a win over #9 BYU just a few days earlier, none of this felt great. Not even with the scoreboard reading 0-0 at that point
of the match.
And then, finally, the walls came tumbling down in the form of an Erin Connolly penalty kick.
Here’s how the Marquette game recap describes the situation that led to the PK:
Wisconsin eventually broke through in the second half following a video review. After the officials reviewed contact inside the penalty area and determined there had been a push from behind, Wisconsin was awarded a penalty kick. The Badgers converted from the spot to take a 1-0 lead.
Dare I say that VAR is ruining the sport.
That’s the first goal allowed this season by freshman keeper Mia Hurd, and just the second by Marquette. Weirdly, both goals were penalty kicks.
After that, it’s not like Wisconsin went to that much of a bunker and let Marquette start to generate a little bit of offense. Marquette didn’t record a shot over the next 10 minutes or so, and you know what the solution is to having trouble building up some offense? Fire it up and over the top, bay bay!
I didn’t give B1G+ my $13 to watch this, and that highlight clip starts riiiight after the ball gets fired down the field. Thus, I don’t know who to credit for the play, but I can definitely credit Kaylie Sheehan for the hustle play to outrun the Badgers’ defender and make just enough of a play to chip it up and over the advancing Drew Stover to put it in the net for the equalizer and her first collegiate goal. An outstanding play, and once again, Marquette scores a goal this year because they have a player making hard runs at the net and putting in more hustle and effort than the opponent.
That strike from Sheehan came in the 79th minute, and freshman keeper Mia Hurd made one more save after that to get to five on the day and preserve both the draw and Marquette’s undefeated record on the season. The Golden Eagles are now 3-0-1 with 11 goals for and just the two penalty kicks against.
How about 80 seconds of highlights, courtesy of GoMarquette.com and B1G+?
Up Next: Can I interest you in a crosstown rivalry match in front of what I presume will be pretty much every single new freshman on campus? Marquette will return to action this coming Thursday with a 6pm Central time start at Valley Fields, one day after the freshmen move into their residence halls. The opponent? Milwaukee, making the trip over the from the east side. You can catch the match on ESPN+ if you can’t make it down. The Panthers are 1-3-0 on the year so far, but that’s with three shutout losses to teams at least earning votes in the top 25 if not actually ranked. UW-Milwaukee has conceded 14 goals in those matches, but they did beat Northern Iowa 4-0 in their lone victory to this point of the campaign.
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