Women's soccer faces Creighton Sunday in Omaha

MILWAUKEE – Following a 2-1 double overtime defeat at the hands of No. 4 Georgetown, the Marquette University women's soccer team heads to Omaha, Nebraska to take on Creighton at Morrison Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Jake Ryan and Jon Schriner will handle the call against the Bluejays for the BIG EAST Digital Network, which can be accessed through FOX Sports Go.

In their last match on Thursday night against the Hoyas, the Golden Eagles (3-11-2, 1-5-1 BIG EAST) took the game's first lead on Kylie Sprecher's first goal of the year at the 62-minute mark. Sprecher's tally came from the top of the 18-yard box on a one-touch off a beautiful setup by freshmen Katie Koker and Katrina Wetherell.

Junior goalkeeper and Omaha native Maddy Henry made 10 saves in the defeat, including a huge penalty kick stop on GU's Kyra Carusa in the 66th minute. Carusa was able to break through to knot the match, 1-1, just six minutes after her PK miss to send the match into overtime, where the BIG EAST's leading scorer Caitlin Farrell ended things in the 102nd minute.

Wetherell's assist of Sprecher's goal was her team-best fourth of the season and moved her into a tie for Marquette's points lead with fellow freshman Alyssa Bombacino with six.

Creighton (6-9, 3-4 BIG EAST) fell 1-0 to Butler on Thursday evening after entering the weekend on the heels of consecutive conference victories over Seton Hall, 2-1, and Villanova, 1-0, in its previous two contests.

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Katie Sullivan picked up her second BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honor of the year on Monday after posting six saves in the 1-0 win over the Wildcats. She also made six saves on Thursday at Butler.

Junior Taryn Jakubowski scored the lone goal against on a penalty kick after Kaira Houser drew a foul in the box in the 55th minute.

Marquette is 5-3-1 all-time against the Bluejays, including a 4-1 mark since CU joined the BIG EAST in 2013. Carrie Madden scored twice and Abby Hess added the match's final tally in a 3-0 victory over Creighton at Valley Fields last season in a match that Marquette out-shot CU, 32-16.

A loss to Creighton would officially eliminate the Golden Eagles from postseason contention.

Following this weekend's action, Marquette will wrap up regular season play against Seton Hall on Thursday, Oct. 25 at Valley Fields.

MARQUETTE FIGHTING FOR BIG EAST TOURNAMENT SPOT
• Despite Thursday's loss to Georgetown, the Golden Eagles are not officially eliminated from making the BIG EAST Women's Soccer Championship, but can now only end up with a maximum of 10 points in league play. Marquette currently sits ninth in the league with four points, which includes a win over St. John's and a draw against DePaul but will need to make it into the top six of the conference to make the annual postseason tournament. The Golden Eagles can finish no higher than fifth and would need to pass Villanova (9), Creighton (9), Providence (8) and DePaul (8) to earn fifth or sixth. MU has advanced to the league tournament each of its previous 13 years in the BIG EAST and owns a pair of championships in 2012 and 2013. The Golden Eagles have never finished below 15 points in BIG EAST action.

Current Standings:
Georgetown (7-0-0) 21 points
Butler (5-1-1) 16 points
Xavier (4-2-1) 13 points
St. John's (4-2-1) 13 points
Villanova (3-4-0) 9 points
Creighton (3-4-0) 9 points
Providence (2-3-2) 8 points
DePaul (2-3-2) 8 points
Marquette (1-5-1) 4 points
Seton Hall (0-7-0) 0 points

SPRECHER SCORES FIRST GOAL AFTER BREAKTHROUGH FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN
• Forward Kylie Sprecher had a standout campaign as a first-year player in 2017, leading the squad with six assists and adding three goals on her way to BIG EAST All-Freshman Team honors. Sprecher slid into the starting lineup in August at Louisville and produced immediately, posting points in four straight matches and earning a pair of BIG EAST Freshman of the Week accolades in the process. After suffering through a foot injury during the spring and summer, Sprecher posted the first point of her sophomore year on an Oct. 18 goal against No. 4 Georgetown.

• During the offseason, Sprecher trained with the United States Under-20 Women's National Team before joining the U-19 squad in early 2018.

HENRY STEPS UP AGAINST HIGHLY-RANKED OPPONENTS
• Junior goalkeeper Maddy Henry did her best to give the Golden Eagles a chance at upsetting No. 4 Georgetown on Oct. 18 with 10 saves against the Hoyas, including a PK stop in the 66th minute on Kyra Carusa. It was her second-highest save total of the season, ranking just behind the season-best 11 she posted against Colorado on Sept. 6. Henry also stepped up her play earlier this season against then-No. 12 Duke, No. 3 North Carolina in the Duke Nike Classic.

• Entering 2018, Henry ranked eighth all-time at Marquette in saves (186), minutes played (3,934:55) and goals against (1.17). She also sat second in saves per match (4.33), fifth in save percentage (.785) and sixth in career victories (25)