Last night, Marquette women's soccer clinched a share of their third straight Big East American Division title by defeating South Florida 2-0. Marquette (17-2-0, 10-1-0) got on the board in the 25th minute when USF keeper Nicole McClure tried to wrap up a Lindsey Page cross but ended up deflecting it to Taylor Madigan. Madigan took advantage of the out of position McClure and snapped home the game winner. Marquette controlled play in the first half, out shooting South Florida (6-8-4, 2-6-3), 9 to 3. The Golden Eagles put their stamp on the game for good with a 16-1 shot margin in the 2nd half. That offensive display ended up resulting in an insurance goal by Kate Reigle in the 68th minute off of a Cara Jacobson cross from the left side.
Senior keeper Natalie Kulla made 1 save in the 2nd half for her 42nd career shutout. Kulla sits in 2nd place in NCAA history, just 2 shutouts short of the record of 44 set by Rutgers' Erin Guthrie in 2009.
Marquette finishes regular season Big East play tied with West Virginia for the best record in the American Division. Because Marquette's lone BE loss is to the Mountaineers, Marquette receives the division's #2 seed. This means they get a bye to the Big East Tournament quarterfinals, where they will host the National Division's #3 seed, Notre Dame, on October 30th at 1pm. Marquette and Notre Dame played once already this season, with Marquette earning a 3-2 overtime home win on a Taylor Madigan golden goal 18 seconds into overtime.
You can see the entire Big East Tournament bracket here.