Women's Soccer: #24/#19 Marquette 5, Pittsburgh 1

The 2012 women's soccer regular season picked up where it left off for Marquette in 2011. The Golden Eagles (4-2-1, 1-0-0) won their ninth consecutive regular season game last night with a 5-1 decision over Pitt (5-5-0, 0-1-0).

The match started out with Marquette pouring on the offense and racking up 10 shots in the first 20 minutes before the Panthers managed their first shot. But Pitt was able to keep the shots high, wide, blocked or into the hands of their keeper until the 39th minute, when Ashley Stemmeler put a head on a Mary Luba cross to give MU a 1-0 lead that they would carry into halftime.

Marquette's second goal was Rachel-powered, as Rachael Sloane found Rachel Brown with some space 25 yards out and Brown put the ball into the top corner to give the Golden Eagles what would turn into the game winner. Pitt would cut into the lead when Morgan Sharick scored on a header off of a Roosa Arvas corner kick in the 62nd minute. Three goals from Marquette - including Maegan Kelly's first of the year - in the last 15 minutes put the game well out of reach.

MU out shot Pitt 34-6 in the game. Let's slow down and say that again: THIRTY-FOUR TO SIX. Marquette was fairly accurate with those shots as well, forcing Pitt's Nicole D'Agustino to make 7 saves to keep MU to only five goals. Amanda Engel made two saves, one in each half, to pick up the win in her first collegiate start.

Here's Coach Roeders on the win:

We played well tonight and I am proud of our team's performance coming out of a learning weekend last Friday and Sunday. It was an all-around solid performance and I am sure glad we were rewarded with the goals that were scored. Our movement off the ball was excellent throughout, superb possession, and if we would have been a little more clinical in our finishing, especially in the first half, we should have led by two or three after 45 minutes. We took full advantage of the 90 minutes and it is good to see Maegan Kelly and a couple of our other forwards, Kate and Mady, get on the scoreboard. Mady made the most out of her minutes tonight with a goal and two assists.

Up Next: The Golden Eagles return home to face George Mason (4-4-0) on Sunday afternoon at 1pm. Senior forward Tiana Kallenberger is the offensive force for the Patriots, with six goals and three assists so far this season. Junior Lyndse Hokanson and redshirt freshman Briana Kottler have split time in net almost completely evenly. Kottler has allowed twice as many goals (10) as Hokanson (5).