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When you're going against maybe the best goal scorer in the country and maybe the best goalkeeper in the country, you've got a long night in front of you. That was the case for Marquette men's soccer on Saturday night when they took on #1 Creighton at Valley Fields, and the Bluejays did not disappoint.
Fabian Herbers scored his 11th goal of the season less than six minutes into the match and the Jays tacked on two more goals on their way to a 3-1 win over Marquette. The win keeps Creighton unbeaten and untied through the first 14 contests of 2015, while Marquette falls to 5-6-2 overall and 1-3-1 in Big East play. The Golden Eagles have slipped down to ninth place in the Big East with just four points in the league table and they trail the sixth and final conference tournament slot by two points with four matches to play.
Creighton's first goal came when Timo Pitter brought the ball around the right flank and found space to slide it to Herbers. You can't give a scorer with the ability and skill of Herbers the time and space that he had, and Herbers easily sent it far post for the 1-0 lead. CU tacked on in the 32nd minute when Joel Rystrand collected MU's attempt at clearing a corner kick and just blasted it into the back of the net from 25 yards out.
Marquette achieved what only four other teams have done this season by beating CU goalkeeper Connor Sparrow for a goal in the 51st minute. Kelmend Islami halved the Creighton lead on a shot after the Jays couldn't clear the ball after a free kick by Louis Bennett II. MU was able to control it enough to get it to Islami at the top of the box who fired his shot to the right post and beat Sparrow so badly that he didn't even move as the ball sped past him.
Noah Franke ended whatever hope at a draw Marquette had in the 82nd minute when his goal line level shot ended up going high enough to beat MU keeper Luis Barraza and catch a little bit of the crossbar to end up shaking the nylon.
Creighton had the shot advantage on the Golden Eagles, outshooting MU 18-6. They also had the majority of the fouls in the game, as Creighton had almost as many second half fouls (11) as Marquette had in the entire game (12).
Up Next: Marquette needs points to get to the postseason, and it's not going to be easy to get there. They'll be in Cincinnati this coming Saturday to take on 4th place Xavier. The Musketeers (8-4-1, 2-2-1 Big East) snapped a three match winless streak in their most recent game, defeating Villanova, 2-1.