Men's Soccer Loses to Louisville, 4-0

Sept. 17, 2006

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Marquette men's soccer team concluded its three-game road trip on a losing note, falling to Louisville, 4-0.

Without the service of central defender Tim Jallow, who missed the contest due to illness, Marquette was forced to reshuffle its lineup yet again and move players to positions to which they aren't accustomed. Marquette struggled through the early part of the season with players playing out of position due to injuries and seemingly hasn't had an opportunity to have a stretch where players were playing in their natural positions.

Marquette (1-7-1, 0-4 BIG EAST) moved senior Matt Soper from the midfield to a central defender spot, a position he hasn't experienced. Soper was one of those players that was injured earlier in the season that forced others to play his position.

Louisville (3-4-1, 2-2 BIG EAST) benefitted from the out-of-sorts defense as Frank Johnke scored two goals and added an assist. David Guzman came off the bench for a goal on four shots for the Cardinals.

"It was a bad situation having an inexperienced central defense against two very skilled offensive players," head coach Louis Bennett said. "Number 10 (Guzman) and number 11 (Johnke) are quality players and took advantage of what we were forced to do today. I would have liked to have seen what Jallow would have been able to do against players with this kind of talent."

Even with the 4-0 loss, some positives came from the contest. Freshman Mehdi Eslami earned a start and performed well.

"We saw some of the best we have played this season and we saw some of the worst," Bennett added. "Mehdi Eslami played 90 minutes and played exceptionally well. He was a bright spot in a gloomy, dark day."

Senior Nathan Sabich also had a good outing, taking three of Marquette's 15 shots from an offensive midfield position. A central defender in previous seasons, Sabich was another playing out of position as he has been playing a defensive midfield spot through the first half of the season.

Louisville scored its first goal 21 minutes into the contest. Johnke scored off a set piece that was started Othaniel Yanez. Yanez, a left footer, sent a bending ball into the box from the right side. The physical Jahnke created his own space and was able to finish the header. Johnke assisted on the second goal, which came in the 36th minute on a goal from Anthony Celebre. Louisville went into halftime up, 2-0.

The Cardinals scored two more in the second half. John Johnke assisted his brother Frank for the third goal in the 84th minute. In the 87th minute, David Guzman capped the scoring on an unassisted goal.

"It's been a long time since I've lost 4-0," Bennett said. "I don't like losing, but this is a process. This is something we have to go through. This can be a learning tool. I can tell them a thousand words about how a situation is going to be, but until they experience for themselves, it will become real."

Bennett is using the negative situations of a seven game losing streak for instruction.

"We address what happens on the field to individuals as to what went right and what went wrong so there is no confusion," Bennett said. "I can not make generic statements to the team. It increases our work load, but it is something that has to be done."

At the halfway point of the season, having players play out of position might not be a situation that Bennett will put his team in again.

"The last half of the season is going to be a discovery of what we've got," he said. "We have to discover who can play the roles that they were intended to play."

That may give an opportunity for more players to see significant playing time.

"This is a catalyst for some review of where we are and to use as an opportunity to revamp some things and move forward," Bennett said. "Mistakes are going to happen until we get the right parts in place."

The Golden Eagles have an exhibition game on Thursday, September 21 at Valley Fields as Marquette soccer alumni will provide the competition. The team returns to regular season competition on Saturday, September 23 at 1 p.m. taking on Providence at Valley Fields.