Men' Soccer Set to Face Wisconsin
10/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Click here for game notes in PDF format.
Golden Eagles conclude week with Georgetown at Valley Fields
MILWAUKEE ? Marquette will play for the first time in seven days, taking on its second Wisconsin school in as many outings. The Golden Eagles travel to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19 at 7 p.m. in Madison. Marquette was forced to take a week off after having its contest on Saturday, October 15 at Providence postponed.
The Golden Eagles will also take on Georgetown this week in a key BIG EAST contest. MU and Georgetown will square off on Saturday, October 22 at 7 p.m. at Valley Fields. While in-state bragging rights rest on the Wisconsin showdown, Marquette is seeking a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament and a win over Georgetown would go a long way to help its cause.
Coming into the contest at 4-9, Wisconsin is coming off a 5-2 loss to no. 8 Indiana in Madison on Saturday. Wisconsin has dropped seven matches in a row and hasn?t had a winning effort since a 1-0 win over Butler on September 18. It?s not like the Badgers aren?t getting their opportunities. In that seven-match span, Wisconsin has had five-one goal losses and two overtime matches. While UW?s offense has scored a respectable 13 goals, the defense has surrendered 21. Reid Johnson leads the team wiht three scores. Jake Settle has given up 19 goals for a 1.58 goals against average.
"If you look at their roster, on paper, they have very good credentials," head coach Steve Adlard said. "They have been a team that has been facing difficulty in getting a result lately. They do have good coaching and good personnel, and we expect them to give a good effort."
The 45th meeting between Marquette and Wisconsin continues a series that has gone uninterrupted for 14 years. The last time MU and Wisconsin didn?t play in a season was in 1989. While Wisconsin has won the last two in the series, over the last seven meetings, the series is tied at 2-2-3.
"The bottom line is that players are human and look at their record and say, 'this is a winnable game' and forget how good their players are," Adlard said. "I think we've avoided that this week in practice. The players are focused and ready. But, in reality, this is a 'one-off' game like the ones with Milwaukee. Regardless of how your season is going, players on either side are going to be ready for a game like this."
Like so many of its new BIG EAST opponents, Marquette and Georgetown will meet for the first time ever this season. Following a 6-1 loss to Maryland, the Hoyas are coming off a big win over Notre Dame, 1-0, on Saturday to up its record to 8-6. The Hoyas have proved clutch this season, winning all three of its overtime games in the first extra session.
"The Maryland result was similar to our UConn result," Adlard said. "It got out of hand and doesn't truly represent your program. They showed they are better with that result against Notre Dame."
The Hoyas? weekend win put the team in the upper half of the division and just two points behind Seton Hall for first place in the division. Ricky Schramm (seven goals) and Ben Jefferson-Dow (six goals) lead a potent attack with 22 scores on the year. Georgetown has had defensive lapses, allowing 27 goals. Andrew Kezler has a 1.70 GAA on the year.
"We have the utmost respect for the history that Georgetown has," Adlard said. "They have the stability of playing in the BIG EAST, which in turn gives them a good understanding about preparation and readiness."
SCHEDULE UPDATE ? The match against Providence originally scheduled for October 15 that was postponed has been rescheduled. Marquette will play at Providence at 1 p.m. EST on October 31. Marquette's match with Wis.-Milwaukee, originally scheduled for Oct. 31 at Valley Fields has been put on hold and will be rescheduled, if possible, pending on conference tournament arrangements for both teams.
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