WSOC readies for matches with Michigan and Milwaukee

Thursday, August 23

Ann Arbor, Mich.

6:30 p.m. CT

Marquette University

Michigan

Buy Tickets

WSOC readies for matches with Michigan and Milwaukee

8/21/2018 1:31:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Live Stats (U-M)Match Notes (PDF)

The Golden Eagles look for their first victory of 2018

By: Communications

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's soccer team looks for its first victory of 2018 with matches at Michigan on Thursday evening and a home tilt against Milwaukee on Sunday at Valley Fields.

The match against Michigan is slated for 6:30 p.m. Central time at U-M Soccer Stadium on Aug. 23, with live statistics available courtesy of MGoBlue.com.

The Golden Eagles (0-1-1) suffered a 2-0 setback to in-state rival Wisconsin on Monday evening and remain in search of their first goal of the regular season after a scoreless draw at Cal Poly in the season lid-lifter on Aug. 16. Maddy Henry made six saves for Marquette against the Badgers, who out-shot Marquette, 16-5, and captured their second-straight victory in the series.

Michigan (2-0) claimed a 2-0 victory over Western Michigan on Sunday after opening the regular season with a 3-1 win over Boston University in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines also topped Air Force, 6-1, and drew Notre Dame, 2-2, in exhibition action. Sophomore midfielder Nicki Hernandez scored the game-winner against the Broncos and leads U-M with a pair of goals and an assist this season. In net, classmate Izzy Nino has conceded just one goal through two matches, but has only had to make a total of three saves.

Marquette owns a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series and has won each of the last four meetings, including 2-1 decisions in both 2015 and 2016. Former Golden Eagle Molly Pfeiffer posted the match winner in both of those meetings and Henry made her regular season home debut with five saves in 2016.

Following Thursday's match in Ann Arbor, Marquette will return to Wisconsin to face Milwaukee at 7:30 p.m. at Valley Fields as the second part of a doubleheader with the MU men, who face Valparaiso at 4:05 p.m.

The Panthers (1-0), who are receiving a vote in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, posted a 3-0 win over Northern Illinois in their season opener and will face Eastern Illinois on Friday before heading across town to Valley Fields. Haley Johnson posted a goal and an assist in the win for UWM, which is coming off a 2017 campaign in which it went 16-0-4 and fell in the championship match of the Horizon League Tournament to IUPUI on penalty kicks, 4-3.

Marquette dropped last season's matchup 2-1 against the Panthers at Engelmann Stadium as then-junior Jamie Kutey posted the lone goal for MU in the 86th minute. That tally snapped a 917:25 scoreless streak for UWM keeper Mallory Geurts, which ranks as the ninth-best mark in NCAA Division I history.

The Milwaukee match will air live on GoMarquette.com/watch, courtesy of the Marquette Wire, MU's student-run media organization. Single match tickets are available for $5 on GoMarquette.com and at the Valley Fields gate. Fans can also call the Marquette Ticket Office at 414-288-GOMU (4668). MU will also be distributing soccer "sunglasses" as a giveaway.

MILWAUKEE SERIES IS LONGEST IN MU HISTORY
• Marquette has met local foe Milwaukee 26 times in program history, more than any other opponent over the squad's first 25 seasons of competition. The two teams have meet in each of the last 25 years during the regular season, while Marquette claimed the lone NCAA tournament matchup, 1-0, in 2005 against UWM at Valley Fields. MU is 0-2-2 in the last four meetings after going 4-0-1 in the five meetings from 2009-13. Marquette's last victory in the series was a 5-0 win at Milwaukee on Sept. 23, 2013 and the Golden Eagles and Panthers have each won nine matches and played to a total of eight draws.

FOUR LOST STARTERS FROM 2017 TO BE REPLACED
• Despite losing four players who started every match in which they appeared last season (Darian Powell, Madison Dunker, Eli Beard, Caroline Fink), Marquette does return an experienced roster and has been able to fill most of those starting roles with players who have seen the pitch frequently. Through the first two regular season matches, Markus Roeders started Jamie Kutey and Abby Hess at forward alongside Carrie Madden in lieu of Powell and Kylie Sprecher, who is still making her way back from injury. Senior Allison Jacobson has slid into Dunker's spot at center back, while Leah Celarek has moved into the midfield from left back where Emily Hess has retaken the position where she started 15 matches last season. Freshman Katrina Wetherell is the lone first-year player in the starting XI.

MADDEN LOOKS FOR ANOTHER STANDOUT CAMPAIGN
• Forward Carrie Madden returns for her fifth season in 2018 looking to become the first player to lead Marquette in points over three consecutive seasons since Maegan Kelly, who did so all four years at MU (2010-13). If Madden leads MU in goals she would be the first MU player to accomplish that feat in three straight seasons since M Club Hall of Famer Kate Gordon (2000-02).

• Madden, who played in a total of one match over her first two seasons on campus, was slowed by quad injury early last season before posting a career-best seven goals and 19 points on her way to All-BIG EAST First Team honors. She led MU with six goals and 17 points in 2016, including four match winners.

• In addition to first team all-league honors in 2017, Madden was a member of the All-BIG EAST Championship Team in each of the last two seasons.

BUGAY PLAYS WITH PHILLIPPINES WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
• Redshirt senior Ryley Bugay has played a vital role in Marquette's midfield and gained international experience in the spring with the Philippines Women's National Team as it attempted to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Bugay played a team-high 1,871 minutes in 2017 for the Golden Eagles while starting all 21 matches as a holding midfielder. She attended the national team's initial identification camp over Thanksgiving week of 2017 in California and was joined during the squad's training camp over Christmas break by her younger sister, Sammi, a current Marquette freshman midfielder.

SPRECHER GAINS U19/U20 U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM EXPERIENCE
• 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. She also notched a career-high two assists on both of Carrie Madden's goals in MU's 2-0 win at DePaul in October.
• During the offseason, Sprecher trained with the United States Under-20 Women's National Team before joining the U-19 squad in early 2018.

GOLDEN EAGLES AMONG MOST SUCCESSFUL CURRENT BIG EAST TEAMS SINCE 2005
• Since entering the BIG EAST Conference in 2005, Marquette has proven to be among the conference's elite women's soccer programs. The Golden Eagles have accumulated an overall record of 184-72-33 since that time and a mark of 97-26-10 in league action, which includes six regular season conference titles and a pair of tournament championships in 2012 and 2013. MU, which has missed the NCAA tournament just four times since its addition to the league, went a remarkable 39-1-1 in BIG EAST play in the four seasons from 2010-13.

• The Golden Eagles were picked to finish third in the 2018 BIG EAST Conference Coaches' Poll for the third year in a row this season, while forward Carrie Madden earned unanimous All-BIG EAST Preseason Team recognition.

HENRY CONTINUES LINE OF MULTI-YEAR STARTERS IN NET
• Third-year starting goalkeeper Maddy Henry has been a fixture in the MU lineup since her arrival on campus two years ago and has played nearly every minute in net since that time. The 2016 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection earned three league goalkeeper of the week honors as a sophomore after also earning all-league championship recognition as a freshman.

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

• Henry joined an exclusive club of Marquette goalkeepers in 2016 as just the fourth primary starter since MU's entrance to the BIG EAST Conference for the 2005 campaign. The previous three keepers started in net for the length of their entire MU careers and each earned multiple All-BIG EAST accolades.

MU CELEBRATED 25 YEARS OF WOMEN'S SOCCER in 2017
• The Golden Eagles celebrated their 25th anniversary as Marquette University's most successful women's program in 2017. MU has appeared in the NCAA tournament in over half of its years of competition (13 of 25) and has earned 10 conference regular season titles and four league tournament crowns. Entering the program's 26th campaign, Marquette has posted an overall record of 336-154-56, including a mark of 315-127-48 in Markus Roeders' 23 years at the helm.