Men' Soccer Begins Three-Match Homestand
10/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Golden Eagles play host to Notre Dame, Pittsburgh to start stretch
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MILWAUKEE ? The Marquette men?s soccer team hosts Notre Dame, once a nationally ranked team, to open its week of action on Wednesday, October 5 at 7 p.m. at Valley Fields. The Golden Eagles also host Pittsburgh, welcoming the Panthers on Saturday, October 8 at 7 p.m. to Valley Fields.
Marquette and Notre Dame renew a series that dates back to 1964, Marquette?s first year of varsity soccer. Marquette tied Notre Dame in the final match of that season, 3-3, to start the 15-meeting series. The last time the two teams met was 15 years ago, when MU evened the series, 4-0 in Milwaukee. The series is tied, 6-6-3.
Notre Dame, ranked the preseason, comes into the meeting with Marquette having won just once in its last three outings. That mark was an out-of-conference victory against Bradley. Notre Dame tied West Virginia, 3-3, on October 1. Joe Lapira and Nate Norman each scored their team-leading third goal to pace the Irish?s come-from-behind effort in the tie. Chris Cahill has been solid in goal for Notre Dame, holding Irish opponents to a 0.95 goals against average on the season.
"Notre Dame is something of an enigma. They are a talented, gifted team, yet at this point, they have found ways to lose some games," head coach Steve Adlard said. "We respect them greatly, but at the same time, we know we can play with these people and hopefully get back to our game plan."
In the matchup with Notre Dame, the Golden Eagles conclude a six-day time span in which all three fall team sports from Notre Dame visit Milwaukee.
Marquette is looking to recover from a 6-0 loss at the hands of no. 12 Connecticut last Saturday.
"The fact is we let in a soft goal early and that undermined our confidence," Adlard said. "Their individual players were gifted and we panicked. To this point, we had been able to contain those type of players. That ended up exposing us in the midfield and ultimately, we had no game plan."
The Golden Eagles are hoping to get their offense on track, having scored just two goals in the last five matches. Heading into the Connecticut contest, Marquette?s defense had been the reason for the team?s above .500 success, holding opponents to just six goals on the year. Marquette is hoping to do so in front of a large home crowd, like the women's team had last Friday.
"We have to put the Connecticut loss behind us and use it as a springboard to never let anything like that happen again," Adlard added. "It won't be a hostile environment, it will be a favorable one that can get behind our team."
Despite the loss, Adlard said his group had returned to the task at hand, thanks to some constructive criticism.
"The mood is good right now and the focus is there," he added. "We watched some film and laid into them about handling the pressure. We showed them their mistakes and they believe what we are saying to them."
Marquette faces Pittsburgh later in the week for the first time in the two school?s history. Pittsburgh comes off a difficult 7-1 defeat at the hands of Seton Hall last Saturday. It takes on West Virginia on Wednesday, October 5, before visiting Valley Fields.
The 7-1 loss came after splitting 1-0 decisions in a loss to division-leading USF and a win over DePaul. Both matches, Pittsburgh looked like a decent side. Pittsburgh has only won twice on the season, posting a 2-6-1 record and a 1-4 mark in BIG EAST play. The Panthers? offense exploded in a two-match stretch, scoring eight total against Mount St. Mary?s and Marshall. Dwayne Grant-Higgins has five goals to lead Pitt this season.
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