MU Falls to Saint Louis, 6-2

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team fell in a 6-2 defeat to Saint Louis University tonight at Valley Fields.

MU scored the first goal of the game in the seventh minute, but the Billikens went on to tally five unanswered goals to break the game open.

"Saint Louis was at their best tonight and we showed spells of our worst," MU head coach Louis Bennett said. "This was one of those games where you have to absorb it and move on really quickly. We have a big game coming up on Friday against St. John's."

The Golden Eagles scored their first goal of the game in the seventh minute when senior striker Josh Coan netted his team-high fifth goal of the season. He ripped a shot from just outside the box on the left side of the field, it ricocheted off a defender and skipped into the net. Senior captain Patrick Seagrist got credit for the assist, his fifth of the year.

The Billikens immediately answered with a goal by Devin Boyce, also in the seventh minute, that tied the game at one. Saint Louis went on to net two more goals first half goals to go up 3-1 heading into the half.

SLU scored twice in a five-minute span between the 64^th and 69^th minutes to go up 5-1 and put the game out of reach.

MU kept fighting, however, and earned a penalty kick in the 76^th minute when Christian Marquez was taken down in the box as he made a run to the goal.

Senior captain Luka Prpa elected to take the penalty kick and his initial shot was saved. He followed up his shot and put the rebound in the back of the net for his first goal of the season. With the goal, Prpa now has 53 career points as a Golden Eagle, which puts him in the top 15 all-time for career points at MU.

Simon Becher tallied the sixth and final goal for the Billikens in the 85^th minute off a penalty kick.

"We'll deal with this loss within 24 hours," Bennett said. "We just have to take any positive we can from it and move on."

Coach Bennett recaps his team's performance tonight against Saint Louis.#WeAreMarquette | #MarquetteSoccer pic.twitter.com/xmY3gTqi1P
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) October 2, 2019

With the loss, MU drops to 4-4-1 (1-1-0 BIG EAST) on the year while SLU improves to 5-3.

UP NEXT:
Coach Bennett and the Golden Eagles will look to bounce back on Friday against No. 12 St. John's in a BIG EAST battle. First touch is set for 7:03 p.m. and the game will be shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

Keep up with the Marquette men's soccer program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteSoccer) and Instagram (@MarquetteSoccer) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteSoccer).

Check out some quick 🎥 highlights from tonight's game against SLU.#WeAreMarquette | #MarquetteSoccer pic.twitter.com/xyYykgLD4B
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) October 2, 2019