Marquette Wraps Up Non-Conference Play With A Comeback Win

For a good long while, it looked like Marquette women’s soccer’s final non-conference match of the season was going to go about the same way as their first one. Back on August 22nd, Colorado State scored in the eighth minute and ultimately beat Marquette 2-0.

On September 22, one month later, Colorado State scored in the eighth minute to take a 1-0 lead on the Golden Eagles. The difference here is that Marquette ended up finding the back of the net eventually.

Macey Shock scored to level the match in the 77th minute, and Alyssa Bombacino knocked in her first goal of the season in the 87th minute to give Marquette the 2-1 win. That gives the Golden Eagles a record of 3-6-0 as they head into Big East play for the remainder of the season.

CSU’s early goal was a product of excellent teamwork and a little bit of fortunate angles. Kendra Gipson got free in transition to the right of the net and flicked a perfect high cross to the far post. Marquette’s Maddy Henry tracked it well, but when the ball connected Kristen Noonan’s head, it snapped past Henry at a fantastic angle that left the MU keeper no chance to even put a hand on it.

Shock’s equalizer was a little bit of luck on two counts. The ball bounced to her on a half-hearted/failed clearance by the Rams, and Shock’s swing on the ball wasn’t as strong as perhaps she would have liked. That gave CSU keeper Gabi McDonald a chance to get a mitt on it.... but either because it was a little too fast for her or because it was a wet and rainy day at Valley Fields, all McDonald did was make the ball bounce as it went into the net.

Bombacino’s goal was the result of great combination work by the Golden Eagles. Josie Kelderman kept taking up empty space that CSU was willing to give up, and she saw a lane to push it ahead to Abby Hess. The fact that Hess was facing backwards towards her own goal allowed her to see Bombacino with a step on a defender, and Hess one-touched it off in front of Bombacino to set her off running. From there it was a little one-on-one play for Bombacino to stay free to pop it towards the far post and notch the late game winner.

Maddy Henry made five saves for Marquette on the day, with all of them coming after CSU’s eighth minute opener. The most important one is arguably her stop in the 82nd minute, which came in between Marquette’s two goals. It was a relatively simple save as all she had to do was fall on a ball at her feet, but hey: preserving a late tie is important.

How about some highlights, courtesy of GoMarquette.com?

Up Next: As mentioned, Marquette heads into conference play for the rest of the season. They’re going straight into the fire, though, as match #1 comes up on Sunday afternoon with the Golden Eagles heading to Washington, D.C., to face #12 Georgetown. The Hoyas, who are the favorite to win the Big East this season, are 6-2-1 and have won four straight, including Friday’s 7-0 win over Ohio at Shaw Field.