Marquette Goes Undefeated in the Lone Star State

March 29, 2010

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Marquette women's soccer team blanked Baylor, 1-0, and tied Texas A&M, 2-2, Saturday in a spring round-robin event at Aggie Soccer Stadium in College Station, Texas. The Golden Eagles remain unbeaten in spring action at 1-0-1.

'The team did very well this weekend considering we haven't spent much time outdoors and it was our first opportunity to play 11 versus 11 on grass," said head coach Markkus Roeders. "All 18 girls contributed and showed improvements throughout the day. We had five ladies who competed that didn't see any action last fall; these are important games for them to gain experience for the future. Our focus was on our defensive shape and possession play but we excelled in many other areas as well. I thought we looked fit and competed hard which goes back to the work our team has already put in this spring."

Lisa Philbin, who did not see action during the 2009 season, scored the only goal Marquette needed to defeat Baylor at the 44:57 mark. Philbin finished her own rebound on a corner kick from Julia Victor.

Goalkeeper Natalie Kulla was only called upon to make one save to secure the shutout win, while the Golden Eagles out-shot the Bears, 5-3.

"It took us some time to break them down, but we stretched them during the course of the match. It was good to score off a set play. Having Lisa Philbin get on the scoreboard is a bonus considering all her health issues she has had to deal with," said Roeders.

The Golden Eagles scored both of their goals against Texas A&M, a 2009 NCAA Sweet 16 participant, in the first half. Lindsey Page netted the first goal in the ninth minute and Kerry McBride scored the second goal in the 20th minute.

For the first goal, Page was able to pressure her defender into deflecting the ball into the Aggie net after a cross from Rachael Sloan. McBride continued to showcase her ability to win balls in the air and headed in MU's second goal off a corner kick service by Stephanie Vasos.

The Aggies scored their first goal of the match at the 31:10 mark and tallied the equalizer in the 57th minute.

Marquette out-shot Texas A&M 7-5 in the first half, 14-9 for the match. MU also owned the advantage on corner kicks, 9-2. Kulla registered four saves against the Aggies.

"We came out strong against A&M and set the tone early which led to a 2-0 lead. They are very talented and came back to tie the match. We had three or four really good chances to come away with a win in the last ten minutes, but didn't finish those. It was definitely an excellent weekend to build on for the rest of the spring," said Roeders.

The Golden Eagles will resume spring play with games against Nebraska and Milwaukee on Sunday, April 11 at Valley Fields.