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Darian Powell made a heads-up play - literally - in the 32nd minute and the Marquette defense stopped their opponent from getting a shot on goal for the second straight match as the Golden Eagles beat Butler, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon.
Powell's goal came off of a Jacie Jermier corner where the senior midfielder won't get credit for her service into the box. Jermier's boot sent the ball right in front of the Butler net, where Molly Pfeiffer was the first to make contact. Her touch sent the ball towards Erin Holland, who was playing up from her usual back line spot for the set piece. Holland's volley sent the ball careening towards the far post, where Powell was stationed. Her alertness on the rapid fire redirections can not go unmentioned, as Powell stood her ground, waited for the ball, and then head butted it past Butler keeper Madison Card for the only goal of the match.
Powell's header was one of only seven shots in the game for the Golden Eagles, and one of just 12 shots overall between the two squads. A wide majority of the match was played in the middle third of the field, with Marquette cutting out most of Butler's offense before it came anywhere near the net and Butler gaining possession because of Marquette's fouls. Even though the Golden Eagles had the fewest fouls whistled against them in the Big East coming into the match, MU was whistled for 21 infractions on Sunday afternoon. MU only picked up one yellow card, on a 74th minute booking for Holland.
Highlights! Courtesy of the Big East Digital Network:
The wildest part of the day's events didn't happen until after the match concluded. DePaul and Georgetown went to a 1-1 draw in Chicago, thus leaving Marquette just one point behind the two teams in their tie for second place in the league. IF first place St. John's falls to Providence on Friday, and IF Georgetown loses to or draws with Creighton on Friday, the the Golden Eagles are sitting pretty, because.....
Up Next: ...Marquette closes the regular season with a trip to DePaul. If they get those previously mentioned results, plus pull off the win against the Blue Demons in Lincoln Park, then Marquette will be 2015 Big East co-champions.