WSOC hosts DePaul Thursday for ‘Socctoberfest’

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's soccer team hosts DePaul on Thursday at 7 p.m. before heading to the East Coast for a noon Central time match at Providence on Sunday.

Thursday's match is Marquette's Socctoberfest celebration featuring an MU sock giveaway for the first 200 students as well as German-themed concessions (brats, sauerkraut, pretzels and root beer). The contest will air live on GoMarquette.com/watch from Valley Fields with John Steppe, Meghan Rock and Jenny Fischer on the call.

The Golden Eagles (3-8-1, 1-2 BIG EAST) earned their first conference victory of the season on a 78th minute goal from freshman forward Alyssa Bombacino against St. John's on Sunday afternoon at Valley Fields. Bombacino's goal was her second of the week and third of the season after previously having scored in the win at Drake on Sept. 9 and at Villanova on Sept. 27. Junior goalkeeper Maddy Henry also made seven saves in her third clean sheet of the campaign.

Bombacino leads MU with six points this season on the strength of her three goals, while classmate Katrina Wetherell has five points on a goal and three assists.

DePaul (6-4-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) enters Thursday's match coming off a 2-1 overtime victory at Creighton on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Demons also defeated Seton Hall, 3-0, to begin league action before falling to then-No. 7 Georgetown on Sept. 27 in Washington, D.C. In non-conference action, DePaul picked up wins over Illinois and Minnesota in late August but fell 2-1 at Milwaukee on Sept. 2.

Franny Cerny leads the squad with 14 points on six goals and a pair of assists, while Morgan Turner is not far behind with five goals and two assists.

Marquette is 15-5-1 against its longtime rival from Chicago, including a 9-1 record in Milwaukee, and has won each of the last two meetings. The Golden Eagles began the series with seven straight wins, outscoring DePaul 26-0 in that stretch and posted another six wins in a row from 2005-13.

Providence (7-4-1, 1-2 BIG EAST) defeated Villanova, 2-0, to open BIG EAST play, but has lost each of its last two matches by a single goal against Xavier, 3-2 (2OT), and at Butler, 1-0. The Friars also competed in the same Duke Nike Classic as Marquette over Labor Day Weekend and suffered one-goal defeats to both No. 3 North Carolina and No. 12 Duke.

Hannah McNulty leads PC and sits second in the BIG EAST with eight goals through 12 matches, while goalkeeper Shelby Hogan has posted an .859 save percentage, also the league's second-best mark.

Marquette owns an 11-1-2 record against the Friars, which includes the first loss in program history to PC last season in Milwaukee. Amber Birchwell's 17th minute tally proved to be the difference in a 1-0 PC victory and snapped a scoreless stretch of 709:59 for the Friars against MU that dated back to 2010. All told, Marquette has posted a 32-3 scoring advantage over the duration of a series that dates to MU's entrance to the BIG EAST in 2005.

Following the matches against DePaul and Providence, the Golden Eagles will have a mid-week bye before heading to Xavier for a match on Sunday, Oct. 14.

BOMBACINO EARNS TOP FRESHMAN WEEKLY HONORS
• Alyssa Bombacino earned her first BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week honors on Oct. 1 after scoring against both Villanova and St. John's. Bombacino helped the Golden Eagles to their first league win of the season on Sept. 30 against St. John's with the match winner in the 78th minute. The Naperville, Illinois native made her first career start against the Red Storm and fired a pair of shots in 78 minutes. She also scored at Villanova on Sept. 27 while playing 32 minutes in a 3-2 loss. She is the first Marquette student-athlete to earn league freshman of the week accolades since Kylie Sprecher earned her second rookie of the week honor last season on Sept. 11.

FRESHMEN PRODUCE IN LOSS AT VILLANOVA
• Bombacino and Katrina Wetherell scored Marquette's two goals in a 3-2 loss at Villanova on Sept. 27 and are two of five first-year players to see extended minutes this season. Wetherell's goal with just 25 seconds remaining was the first of her career and moved her into the team lead for points. She also provided her team-best third assist on Bombacino's goal in the 75th minute. Classmates Katie Koker and Madison Burrier have joined Wetherell, who has started every match, in the starting lineup recently, while Macey Shock has played regularly as a reserve alongside Bombacino.