Marquette welcomes Colorado, heads to Drake

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's soccer team will host Colorado on Thursday evening at Valley Fields and head to Drake on Sunday afternoon in search of its first victory.

Marquette hosts the Buffaloes at 7 p.m. on Thursday in a match that will be air live on GoMarquette.com/watch, with a broadcast produced by the Marquette Wire, MU's student-run media organization. Following the match in the Valley, Marquette will face Drake at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Golden Eagles (0-4-1) are coming of a pair of losses at the Duke Nike Classic against then-No. 12 Duke and No. 3 North Carolina. Junior goalkeeper Maddy Henry posted 15 saves over the weekend and earned all-tournament recognition along with freshman midfielder Katrina Wetherell. Henry made seven saves in the 2-0 loss to Duke on Thursday and eight saves against the Tar Heels on Sunday afternoon.

Redshirt senior forward Carrie Madden, who played a total of just 25 minutes over the weekend, was injured in Thursday's match against the Blue Devils and did not play against UNC. She is the only MU player to have found the back of the net this season with a pair of goals in a 3-2 loss at Michigan on Aug. 23.

The Buffaloes (4-0-1) are coming off a 3-1 win over Iowa State on Sunday and rank eighth nationally with 3.2 goals per contest. Jorian Baucom and Taylor Kornieck each scored within the first ten minutes of play, and after Jesse Loren's first career goal, the Buffaloes allowed first goal of their season in the 89th minute. Through their first five matches, Colorado has scored 16 goals and conceded that lone goal against the Cyclones.

A pair of transfers are among the leading point producers for CU as Texas Tech-transfer Tatum Barton leads the squad with six goals and an assist, while Baucom, formerly of LSU, has posted three goals and two assists. Though MU and Colorado have never met, the Golden Eagles have previous experience against Baucom as the then-sophomore scored a pair of second half goals for LSU in a 5-1 Marquette loss on Sept. 20, 2015.

Drake (2-4) defeated North Dakota State, 1-0, on Sunday as Olivia Bruce scored her team-leading second goal of the season. That victory snapped a three-match losing streak for the Bulldogs, who also defeated Fresno State, 2-1, on Aug. 19.

Marquette is 2-0-1 all-time against Drake, including a 3-0 victory over the Bulldogs last season at Valley Fields. Madden scored in that contest and graduate student Darian Powell scored twice as MU out-shot Drake, 22-12. MU also defeated Drake, 2-1, in 2005 and played to a scoreless draw against the Bulldogs in its only other trip to Des Moines in 2006.

Following the trip to Iowa, Marquette will play its next three matches at Valley Fields, with home dates against BYU (Sept. 14), Milwaukee (Sept. 17) and the BIG EAST Conference opener against Butler on Sept. 23.

GOLDEN EAGLES GET ON THE BOARD AT MICHIGAN
• After being held scoreless in their first two matches of the season against Cal Poly and Wisconsin, All-BIG EAST forward Carrie Madden helped the Golden Eagles break onto the score sheet with a pair of tallies at Michigan on Aug. 23. Madden's goals snapped a 226:29 scoreless stretch to start the season, though Marquette is still in search of its first win of the campaign.

MILWAUKEE MATCH NOW SET FOR SEPT. 17
• Due to severe weather in the Milwaukee area, the annual match against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was postponed from Sunday, Aug. 26 and will now be contested on Monday, Sept. 17 at Valley Fields at 7 p.m. Central time. 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 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. The two teams are also an even 5-5-3 all-time at Marquette.

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). She currently tops MU with two goals and four points so far in 2018.

• 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.

FOUR LOST STARTERS 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 was the lone first-year player in the starting XI to begin the year before being joined by Katie Koker in the Michigan match as Abby Hess played as a reserve. Freshman Madison Burrier also started in the midfield against No. 3 UNC.

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 184-75-33 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 sat 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 336-157-56, including a mark of 315-130-48 in Markus Roeders' 23 years at the helm.