Marquette Women’s Soccer Gets Shut Out By Butler In Big East Opener

The Marquette Golden Eagles lost 3-0 to the Butler Bulldogs Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis. Even though they dominated the time of possession in both halves they weren’t able to get many quality chances to trouble the Butler goalkeepers. The Bulldogs were able to break down the MU back line and took advantage of the few occasions they went on the attack. BU played stout defense for most of the game looking to defend the lead and got two second half insurance goals against the run of play.

Paige Monaghan did the most damage to MU scoring two goals and assisting on the third. Her first goal came in the 13th minute when she found some space on the right side and fired a shot from the top of the box just past Maddy Henry’s outstretched hands. The Golden Eagles were lucky not to be down 2-0 just six minutes later when Monaghan again found herself in good position inside the box and hit the post with her shot. After that, MU dominated the possession of the ball but did not test goalkeeper Hannah Luedtke in the first half.

The second half went very similar to the first with Butler getting the early goal in the 55th minute with Gabrielle Lemkul putting the ball away after a scramble for it in the box. Marquette responded well and threw numbers forward for the remaining thirty minutes but couldn’t find a goal. Their best chances both came off rebounds at the foot of Kylie Sprecher. Her first chance she had an open net from the top of the box but just couldn’t find the touch to lift it over the fallen Leonie Dougie, who had replaced Luedtke at halftime. Sprecher’s second opportunity was similar to her first, except this time Dougie was on her feet and made a diving save on a nice left-footed volley by Sprecher. As MU was pushing forward, the Bulldogs caught them on the counter attack and scored their third goal in the 77th minute.

While the Golden Eagles did have the ball for most of the game, they were kept in the middle third of the field the majority of the time. Butler outshot Marquette in both halves and finished the game with an 11-7 advantage. The Bulldogs did a great job defensively and didn’t allow the Golden Eagles to seriously threaten their goal. It didn’t matter who was in goal for Butler because both goalkeepers made a combined three saves. The Bulldogs showed just how good they are defensively in this game. They have only allowed one goal all year back on August 20th against Ohio. Conversely, Marquette hasn’t given up three goals since their season opener against Stanford. This game was a lot closer than the scoreline indicates. As I mentioned, MU had possession of the ball for long stretches throughout the match. Unfortunately, as has been the case in recent games, they weren’t able to create clear goal-scoring chances.

Here’s what MU head coach Markus Roeders had to say after the game:

Two key players that did not play were Carrie Madden and Eli Beard. Madden played 22 minutes in the game against UWM but was rested against Butler, While Beard picked up an injury in the last game and did not make the trip to Indianapolis with the team. These players are two difference makers in the attack and were definitely missed on the pitch. Madden and Beard are in a three-way tie for second on the team in points with an identical two goals and three assists each. Hopefully both of those players will be back on Thursday when.......

Up Next: .....the Golden Eagles will look to end their three game winless streak when they play Villanova on Thursday night. That one will be at Valley Fields with first kick scheduled for 7pm.