Marquette University Athletics
Golden Eagles Leave Texas 1-1 Saturday
4/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
April 20, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Marquette women's soccer team split a pair of spring matches Saturday in College Station, Texas. The Golden Eagles opened with a convincing 3-1 victory over Stephen F. Austin, before falling to host Texas A&M, 1-0, in the nightcap at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
Following two draws in early April to Saint Louis and Kansas, the Golden Eagles tallied their first win of the spring against Stephen F. Austin. Danielle Martens opened scoring in the 15th minute for Marquette, finishing a cross from Rachel Sloan on the right side. Julia Victor found the back of the net a minute into the second half to put Marquette ahead 2-0. A bending direct corner kick by sophomore Stephanie Vasos at 71:50 marked the third and final goal for the Golden Eagles.
It looked like Marquette was going to hold on to the shutout, but the Ladyjacks scored on their only shot attempt of the game with four seconds left in the match. The SFA front line slipped a ball behind the Marquette defense, and finished the goal from about 22 yards out. H
For the game, the Golden Eagles outshot the Ladyjacks, 17-1, while experimenting with a number of lineups on the field. Both redshirt freshman Natalie Kulla and junior Chelsey Turner split time in the net against Stephen F. Austin.
Against the Aggies, the game was broken up into thirds featuring one 45 minute period followed by two 25 minute periods. Texas A&M, who advanced to the to the quarterfinals of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, tallied the lone goal of the game at the 6:37 mark. Jennifer Kmezich crossed the ball inside to Cynde Currie who headed the ball in Kulla for the score.
Marquette was outshot 8-3, with Michelle Compty and Becky Ryan and Lindsey Page each placing shots on goal. Both the Golden Eagles and the Aggies tallied one save apiece and were even with two corner kicks each. Kulla defended the net for the 45-minute period against Texas A&M, while Turner played the latter two periods.
"We got beat by a very good team on an excellent goal," said head coach Markus Roeders. "This is the difference in these types of matches. Texas A&M is very good and we played strong against them. Considering we had played earlier in the day, it was a good performance by us. We had our strongest play in the back line and in the midfield, but we know our team offense is a work in progress. Overall, an it excellent game day for us and we learned much about ourselves moving forward."
Marquette will host UW-Milwaukee Thursday, April 23 at Valley Fields at 7:30 p.m. The match will be a full 90 minutes followed by 30 additional minutes of play. The Golden Eagles will then take part in the Kicks Against Breast Cancer Awareness and Fundraising Showcase on Sunday, April 26 at Soldier Field in Chicago to close the spring season. There Marquette will face DePaul and Wisconsin.
