Marquette Women’s Soccer Season Ends In 1-0 NCAA Tournament Loss To Wisconsin

Rose Lavelle charged down the field and launched from 20 yards in the 30th minute, beating Marquette keeper Maddy Henry high for the lone goal of the game as Marquette lost 1-0 to Wisconsin in the first round of the 2016 NCAA tournament.

As might have been expected, the power of Wisconsin’s offense was more than Marquette’s defense could withstand. The Badgers outshot Marquette 11-6, with the big advantage coming in the second half when MU could muster just two shots. Wisconsin also showed their ability to keep it on the Golden Eagles’ defensive end by winning the corner kick battle, 12-2.

It’s hard to be disappointed by this loss, other than it was against the Badgers. This was Marquette’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013. The Golden Eagles scuffled through maybe the two worst back-to-back seasons in the tenure of Markus Roeders as head coach over the past two years. This year, though, they used a difficult non-conference schedule to prime the pump for the Big East slate, which resulted in MU sharing the regular season crown with DePaul. As is always the case with collegiate sports, Marquette will be required to replace some very important players next season. With Carrie Madden and Darian Powell returning up top and Maddy Henry having three more years in the net in front of her, Marquette appears to be ready to make another extended run of success.

We do have to bid farewell to Marquette’s seniors: Liz Bartels, Alyssa Devine, Ashley Handwork, Erin Holland, Meegan Johnston, Andee Nelson, Molly Pfeiffer, Morgan Proffitt, Cali Pyzdrowsk, and Lisa Roman. These women won two Big East regular season titles and a Big East tournament title in their time in Milwaukee, and Marquette fans everywhere can be proud of those accomplishments. Perhaps even more importantly, they’ve grown into the leaders of this year’s squad, guiding the rest of the team through the work and hustle and effort required to rebound from the last two seasons to earn the top spot in the league once more before they departed Marquette. THANK YOU so much to all 10 of you, and we hope nothing but the best for you in the future.