Marquette University Athletics
Marquette University
South Florida
Men's Soccer Puts The Freeze On South Florida
10/23/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 23, 1999
MILWAUKEE - The Marquette men?s soccer team earned its tenth win of the season this evening, downing Conference USA foe South Florida 3-1 on a chilly night at Valley Fields. The Golden Eagles are now 10-6-0, and the ten wins surpasses the victory total from last season, when Marquette went 9-11-1. Sean Reti netted both second half goals to help the Golden Eagles improve to 5-2-0 in C-USA play. With the loss, South Florida falls to 5-7-1, 1-4-0.
The Golden Eagles dominated play in the opening frame, but didn?t take the lead until the 38th minute. Once again, it was Marshall Morehead putting Marquette ahead. C-USA?s leading scorer tallied his 13th goal of the season when he blasted a 13-yarder past South Florida keeper Bubby Leasure after being left unmarked in the box. An active Golden Eagle defense allowed the potent South Florida offense, featuring C-USA Preseason Player of the Year Brian Waltrip, only three shots in the opening frame.
?We were worthy of the lead and played well in the first half,? said Marquette head coach Steve Adlard, who celebrated his birthday with the victory. ?We probably should have had a few more there. But we were strong on the ball and Bryan Godfrey and Andy Hunter were controlling the game in the midfield.?
However, after a slow first half, the Bulls awakened after the break, surging forward for several early scoring chances. Marquette held firm until the 70th minute, when Jason Cudjoe cleaned up a scramble in the box following a corner with a three-yard shot past Marquette keeper Greg Guglielmino.
The Golden Eagles were resilient, though, and only two minutes later regained the lead when Hunter sent a long through ball into the box to Reti. Eerily similar to his game-winning goal against Cincinnati a week ago tonight, the speedy sophomore raced around two defenders, chipped the ball past a lunging goalie and blasted a shot into the unprotected net from a bad angle along the goal line.
Marquette?s insurance goal also was courtesy of Reti. Trying to counter several dangerous South Florida rushes, Morehead and Reti were playing keep-away in the corner. A frustrated Bull defense first got physical. Then they sent several offensive players back to try to break-up Marquette?s stall tactics. After gaining control of the ball with less than a minute left, Waltrip dribbled towards his own net and sent a clearing pass up the middle of the field. It was promptly picked off by Godfrey, who redirected the ball to Reti. The attacking midfielder fired a shot from the right side of the box that found the back of the net.
?They took us out of the game in the second half,? Adlard said. ?We weren?t able to get any possession to relieve the pressure they were throwing at us. So when we did gain possession, it became a necessary evil to play with the ball in the corner like we did. It?s not really good philosophical soccer, but sometimes, like tonight, something comes from it.?
Marquette concludes its C-USA regular-season schedule this coming Wednesday, Oct. 27, with a game in St. Louis, Mo., against #2 Saint Louis. The Golden Eagles and the Billikens are slated for a 7 p.m. (CT) kick-off at the Billiken Sports Center.
GAME RECAP
Marquette 3, South Florida 1
South Florida 0 1 1
Marquette 1 2 3
First Half: 1, MU, Morehead (Adrian, Hunter) 37:12.
Second Half: 2, USF, Cudjoe (B. Alvero, Waltrip) 69:37, 3, MU, Reti (Hunter) 71:38, 4, MU, Reti (Godfrey) 89:42.
Shots: USF 12, Marquette 9
Corners: USF 5, Marquette 7
Saves: USF 2 (Leasure 2), Marquette 5 (Guglielmino 5)
Fouls: USF 15, Marquette 10
Att.: 145
