Marquette University Athletics
Men's Soccer Team Opens Up Spring Play
3/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
March 24, 2007
MILWAUKEE - Men's Soccer Team Opens Up Spring Play
Dan Addis scores MU goal
MILWAUKEE -- The Marquette men's soccer team opened up spring play on March 24 with two games at the Field Turf practice pitch at Valley Fields. The Golden Eagles earned draws in each match, tying with Wis.-Parkside, 1-1, in the morning and going scoreless with Wis.-Green Bay in the afternoon.
Sophomore Dan Addis scored MU's only goal on the day, blasting a shot from 30 yards out against Parkside. While he didn't score in the second match, he proved valuable on the offensive end, starting or creating many of MU's scoring opportunities against Green Bay.
"Dan Addis proved he could be an impact player today," head coach Louis Bennett said. "He was creating opportunities for himself and was distributing very well."
Addis' efforts on the offensive end were matched by the efforts of the defense, especially in the second game. Against Wis.-Green Bay, Marquette had much of the pace and play early. However, the Golden Eagles, who were playing their second game of the day to the Phoenix's only game, had to rely on their stingy defense to keep the second contest scoreless.
In the final 20 minutes, UW-Green Bay had a handful of opportunities that were thwarted by smart saves by sophomore Matt Pyzdrowski or suffocating defensive play by Tim Jallow and the rest of the back line.
"Fatigue got the better of us in the last 20 minutes, and we had to take care of the defensive end," Bennett said. "Players like Pyzdrowski, Jallow and (junior Mike) Carlson had to be there for us to keep Green Bay from scoring."
Pyzdrowski made three saves over that time frame on some difficult chances from the veteran Phoenix attack.
"That's what Pyzdrowski is supposed to do," Bennett added. "But, there's no question he had a good day today."
On the whole, there were positives and areas of concern for Bennett and the rest of the staff.
"I thought the defensive and midfield third were more than adequate today," he said. "We struggled a bit up front. Right now, we don't have the specialists for the goal scoring positions."
The Golden Eagles, now 0-0-2 in the spring, will have the opportunity to put training efforts to the test on Saturday, March 31, when they visit Kentucky, a 14-win club in 2006.
"We don't just train to train. We train to perform," Bennett concluded. "With just one game next week on Bermuda grass on the road against a very good team, we will get a very good opportunity to see who is responding properly to the training."
In all, Bennett said he is pleased with the way his team is handling to the spring workouts.
"What I like about this team now is that I can tell the truth. There is no sugar coating," he said. "They know what they need to do to perform at the level we expect. If they aren't living up to our expectations, I can tell them upfront."
