Marquette blanked By Providence, 2-0

Oct. 25, 2008

Box Score vs. Providence College (PDF)

MILWAUKEE -- The Marquette University men's soccer team is still on the outside looking in at the 2008 BIG EAST Championship field after falling 2-0 to Providence College in the Golden Eagles' final home match of the regular season Saturday at Valley Fields.

"You've got to take your take your hats off," said Marquette head coach Louis Bennett. "That was a great BIG EAST performance [by Providence]. They came in, they did what they needed to do to win, then they defended."

With the loss, MU dropped to 3-8-4 overall and 1-6-2 in league play. The visiting Friars meanwhile picked up three more points -- and their first road win of the season -- with the victory and boast a 7-5-3 record overall, including a 4-5-1 mark in the BIG EAST.

Early on, both teams had trouble maintaining possession and controlling the ball due to wet field conditions and swirling winds with gusts of up to 25 mph. The Friars were eventually able to push forward efficiently with the wind at their backs in the first half and race out to a 2-0 lead by halftime.

Ryan Maduro played a cross from the left side of the box that was credited as an own goal, as the pass was deflected off Marquette's Tom Lynn in the 20th minute. Lynn slid in front of the Friars' Michael Narciso in order to prevent an easy score, but the ball hit Lynn and his momentum carried the ball past the goalline.

Maduro had another perfectly placed cross, this time from the left corner, in the 24th minute. With a pair of Providence attackers and just one MU defender near post, Maduro's serve found the inside of teammate Matt Marcin's right foot, which was one-touched into the back of the net.

"After the two goals, we tried to accommodate the wind and some other things," said Bennett. "We had a set game plan coming in and we struggled to accomplish that with any consistency, especially in the first half. Second half, we still went with the same game plan, but we were reaching a little bit."

The Golden Eagles went with four men up front and three in the middle in an attempt to generate more of an offensive presence after the early deficit. Marquette had its chances, producing six shots in the second half, but could not get any serious looks. MU had just one shot on goal despite out-shooting the Friars by a margin of 9-5.

Marquette will close out the regular season with a two-game road swing with stops at West Virginia (Oct. 29) and Georgetown (Nov. 1). MU is currently last in the Blue Division, but with five points in conference play, can still earn enough points to garner a spot in the BIG EAST tournament.