2014 Big East Women's Soccer Tournament: #1 DePaul Eliminates #4 Marquette On Penalty Kicks

With the season on the line, Marquette was in need of their best defensive performance of the season.  They were facing DePaul, the #1 seed in the Big East tournament and one of just two teams in the country to close the regular season undefeated. DePaul had beaten Marquette 3-2 in overtime back on Senior Night, and in Elise Wyatt, Alexa Ben, and Abby Reed, the Blue Demons had the most potent three pronged attack in the conference.

Marquette got that defensive performance they needed.

For 110 minutes, Marquette outshot DePaul, 12-10, including a 9-5 advantage in the second half.  Goalkeeper Amanda Engel made five saves throughout regulation and overtime to keep the Blue Demons off the scoreboard.  Unfortunately, Alejandria Godinez was doing the exact same thing on the other side of the pitch.  Godinez made three saves, one in the second half and two in the second overtime session to keep the score knotted at zero when the prescribed amount of time had ended.  Perhaps the wind helped both sides keep the ball out of the net, as there was a persistent 20 mile per hour breeze, with gusts as hard as 50 mph on the St. John's campus.

Officially, the match ended in a scoreless draw, but because this is tournament play, one team has to advance.  That meant penalty kicks.  Marquette took the advantage when Elise Wyatt missed on her attempt, and it was 3-2 after three rounds.  But Darian Powell and Alex Heffron couldn't convert their tries in the fourth and fifth rounds, while Elizabeth Endy and Jessica Weaver found openings past Engel to give the Blue Demons the 4-3 penalty kick win.

DePaul advances to Sunday afternoon's Big East title game against #2 seed Georgetown, while the Golden Eagles return home to Milwaukee with the season at an end.  As of this past Monday, Marquette had the #97 RPI in the country, so it seems out of the question that they'll find a way into the NCAA tournament with a final record of 10-8-3.

Thus, it's with a slightly heavy heart that we say goodbye to Marquette's seniors.  THANK YOU to Elizabeth Bollinger, Isabella Carrasco, Maggie Edlebeck, Haley Fritzlen, Alex Heffron, Mary Luba, Shalese Miller, Sofie Schunk, and Mady Vicker.  You served Marquette in a variety of ways on the field, but all of your efforts over the past four years have been invaluable to the program.  While this season ends in a fashion that you're not accustomed to, it's important to remember what you have accomplished in their time in blue and gold: Three Big East regular season titles, two Big East tournament titles, and three NCAA tournament appearances is more than any other program at Marquette can claim over the past four seasons.  Thank you again, ladies, and you will all be missed.