Well, things weren’t going to stay perfect forever.
On Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Xavier pounced on Marquette women’s soccer early with two goals in the first 20 minutes, then suffocated the Golden Eagles’ chances at a rally in the second half, ultimately sending MU to a 2-1 loss, their first in Big East play, and just the second of the entire season. As a result, Xavier retains their standing in first place in the Big East, while Marquette slips from a tie for second to alone in third place due
to Villanova winning their match on Wednesday night.
It was a bad sign when Xavier scored on their first shot of the game. Officially, the play by play says it’s the second, claiming that Frances Reuland’s first shot was blocked. I have a hard time calling what happened before she lofts this shot past Mia Hurd an actual shot attempt, but the one that actually goes in is pretty sweet, to be honest.
That was less than four minutes into the match, and the shots by the Musketeers kept right on coming. Well, maybe that’s overstating it, but it was still 2-1 shots favoring Xavier over the next 13 minutes, right up until this deflection landed right at Reuland’s feet and she made the Golden Eagles pay.
So, that’s bad.
Coco Dorfman’s goal in the 28th minute: Much better.
Okay, it’s not really a fantastic play by Dorfman, up to and including the fact that it was actually called in the building as a goal for Clare Shea for the header you can see in the clip. But maybe it doesn’t go in without the deflection from Dorfman, and when you’re slicing into a 2-0 lead, you take it however you can get it.
This was, however, pretty much the last nice thing that happened to/for Marquette on this night. They would manage just three more shots for the entirety of the remaining hour of the match, including just one in the second half. Meanwhile, Xavier fired away nine shots in the second half and Mia Hurd had to make EIGHT SAVES to keep the Golden Eagles in this game. That’s great work from her, but that’s also way too many shots on goal being given up as Marquette was, in theory, trying to mount a rally.
How about some highlights, courtesy of GoMarquette.com and ESPN+? It’s more than just Dorfman’s goal, I promise.
Up Next: Marquette has to find a way to not let one loss turn into two this coming Saturday afternoon. On October 24th, the Golden Eagles will play host to UConn, with a 1pm Central time first kick set to air on ESPN+. The Huskies are 3-4-7 on the year and 1-2-3 in Big East action after losing 2-0 to Creighton on Wednesday night even though they outshot the Bluejays 18-7.
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