Not Much To Say: Minnesota 2, Marquette 0

Things did not go well for Marquette women’s soccer on Sunday afternoon at Valley Fields.

Minnesota grabbed ahold of the possession battle in the match pretty early and never let go. That led to a 13th minute goal that turned into the game winner in a 2-0 contest, but it also led to a 20-2 shot disparity favoring the visiting Gophers. Neither of Marquette’s shots landed on frame, so officially, Minnesota keeper Megan Plaschko gets credit for a shutout without making a save.

Here’s Izzy Brown’s goal in the 13th minute that goes in the books as the winner, and let’s be honest, this is a really great goal on a lot of levels.

MU’s lone shot of the first half came in the 32nd minute, when Alexa Maletis missed to the right of the net. Kate Gibson missed to the right as well in the 67th minute when this match was still technically competitive, although the shots were going wildly against Marquette at that point. To a certain extent, Marquette’s defense wasn’t awful even getting outshot this badly, because only five Minnesota shots were on target by the end of 90 minutes, and that included both goals. At some point, it’s not the defense’s fault that the offense isn’t doing anything resembling threatening on the other end.

Anyway, here’s Minnesota’s other goal, as Paige Kalal rifled the insurance into the net just inside the post on a free kick in the 85th minute. Not much you can do to defend that at all, y’know?

Chloe Olson made her first appearance of the season, getting the start in net for Marquette. She finished the day with three saves, and while this isn’t her fault, we’re left with questions as to why Mikki Easter and her two match shutout streak was on the bench.

Up Next: Just one match for the Golden Eagles this week, and it’s a road contest. On Thursday, Marquette will take their 1-2-1 record on the road to Chicago to face UIC. The Flames are 0-2-1 on the season after falling 1-0 on the road to Miami (OH) on Sunday afternoon.