Marquette University Athletics
Nationally Ranked Teams Set to Battle in Weekend Tournament
9/22/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 22, 2000
Milwaukee - After successfully defending its first national ranking of the season, the Marquette men's soccer team gets its toughest challenge of the season as it travels to Omaha, Neb., to participate in the Ameritas Classic. The Golden Eagles begin the tournament with a Sept. 22 match against Drake at 5 p.m. and conclude the event with a 2:30 p.m. match on Sept. 24 against third-ranked Creighton. Marquette is currently ranked 18th on the year.
"Getting ranked is a big step for us," head coach Steve Adlard said. "They don't put you in unless they genuinely believe that you have the credentials to be there."
The Golden Eagles hope to be healthy by the beginning of the tournament. Senior Marshall Morehead (Stillwater, Minn.) missed a few minutes of action in the 2-1 win over Oakland on Sept. 19 with an injured ankle suffered in the contest. Morehead is Marquette's leading scorer with six goals and one assist (13 points). The team's second leading scorer, freshman Tony Walby (Brookfield, Wis.) suffered from flu-like symptoms against Oakland and did not start the contest. He played sparingly in the match and did not improve on his three goal, four assist totals for the season. Freshman Adam Ubert (Hartland, Wis.) also suffered from the same bug that Walby faced. He did start and play the entire match, giving up just one goal and recording three saves.
Marquette's first opponent in the weekend tournament is Drake. The Bulldogs are 3-3 and are led by Brian Daux who has 14 points (seven goals) on the season. Zack Brennan is the Bulldogs' goalkeeper. He is 3-1 on the season with a 1.92 goals against average. In recent action, Drake had its three-match winning streak halted with a 2-1 overtime loss to Western Illinois on Sept. 17.
Marquette defeated Drake, 2-0, last season and leads the all-time series at 2-1.
"It's important for us to not look past Drake," Adlard said. "They are a fine squad that can beat you if you come in unprepared."
Creighton offers the Golden Eagles a good barometer of where it is this season with a match on Sunday, Sept. 24. After two weekend wins, including one over two-time defending NCAA champion and then-No. 6 Indiana, Creighton has claimed the No. 3 spot in the national rankings, leaping from 10th.
"The Creighton match is a showcase match for us," Adlard said. "There is a lot of prestige involved in this match. They are coming off of a great win over Indiana with a lot of confidence. The negative for us is that we have won the last two meetings and it's tough to beat a good team like Creighton several times in a row."
Leading the way for Creighton is sophomore forward Mike Tranchilla. He scored the game-winning goal in each of the Bluejays' last two wins and dished out two assists en route to claiming the Missouri Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week. He racked up eight points over the last weekend, giving him a total of 11 on the year.
Marquette defeated Creighton, 1-0, last season and leads the all-time series, 3-2.
