MSOC Travels to Providence for Saturday Night Showdown

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team looks to build off an impressive 6-1 win over the Green Bay Phoenix on Tuesday as they travel to Rhode Island to take on the Providence Friars in BIG EAST competition.

First touch from Chapey Field is set for 6 p.m. Central time on Saturday, Oct. 12. Providence will have live stats and a free live stream available at Friars.com.

Both teams, who come into Saturday's match with identical 1-2-0 records in BIG EAST play, are battling for division seeding this weekend. They're currently tied for sixth place in the conference with three points. Providence has won three of the last five in the series with MU, including a 1-0 victory at Chapey Field in 2018.

STATS/STREAM:
Live stats and live stream will be available on Friars.com.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Marquette scored six goals against Green Bay Tuesday night, its first time scoring six goals in a game since a 6-0 win against Valparaiso on Sept. 3, 1994.
The Golden Eagles have split their four road games this year, going 2-2. After dropping road tilts to USF and Milwaukee, they've won two straight games against Wisconsin and BIG EAST foe Xavier.
MU has won four of its last seven road games overall dating back to 2018.
Redshirt junior Griffin Jende earned his first career start on Tuesday against Green Bay. He responded by scoring two of his team's first three goals and tied for the team lead with four points on the night.
Defender Manuel Cukaj continued his breakout season Tuesday night, scoring two goals. He's tied for second on the team in points and goals.
Senior defender Patrick Seagrist leads the team with six assists, and he tallied his first goal Tuesday.
18 different Golden Eagles have started in the first 11 games and three have started in every game.
Josh Coan netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season against Saint Louis on Oct. 1.
True freshman Christian Marquez netted his third goal of the year Tuesday night. He earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Sept. 30 after scoring two game-winners against Wisconsin and Xavier.
Sophomore goalkeeper Cedrik Stern has started the past two games in net for MU after not playing in the first nine games. He's 1-1 on the year and made three saves in his first win of 2019 on Tuesday.

OPPONENT FORM:
PROVIDENCE 7-4-0 (1-2-0 BIG EAST)
The Providence Friars are led by eighth-year head coach Craig Stewart. In his 10-plus years as a head coach, Stewart has led PC and Franklin Pierce (for three seasons) to a combined record of 128-62-24 with six NCAA tournament appearances.

Last year, Stewart led his team to its fifth BIG EAST semifinal appearance during his tenure, including his fifth winning season at the school. They fell 4-0 to Georgetown in the semis, putting their record at 10-7-2 on the year. In this year's rematch against then No. 2 Georgetown, the Friars fell in a 2-1 defeat on Sept. 28. PC has beaten Seton Hall but also dropped a match to Butler last Friday, 3-1.

The Friars are led by senior midfielder Joao Serrano, who leads the team with 11 points and four goals. PC has been fairly balanced offensively, scoring 18 goals in 11 games, with nine different players scoring goals and five scoring multiple times in 2019. Wolf Esben leads the team with four assists.

SERIES HISTORY:
Providence leads the all-time series 8-4-2 against Marquette. The Friars are unbeaten in the past five matchups dating back to 2014, going 3-0-2 in those games. Last year, PC squeaked out a 1-0 win over MU. The Golden Eagles took four consecutive matchups in the series from 2011-13 but haven't defeated coach Stewart's team since.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
Head Coach Louis Bennett: "The only thing we can continue is the routine of training, scouting, practicing and the changes we need to make. We're going to hold onto the grit, determination and pride we showed on Tuesday. We need to play for pride, for our school and for each other."

Redshirt Junior Griffin Jende: "We want to keep playing our best soccer no matter what the score is. We need to keep our foot on the gas for a full 90 minutes."

KEY POINTS:
COAN LEADS BIG EAST IN SCORING: Senior midfielder Josh Coan came into the Sept. 13 game against NIU without any points on the season. He quickly changed that, notching career-highs in points (5) and goals (2) in a game. He had a hand in all three goals, scoring two off set pieces and assisting on Connor Alba's goal in the 31st minute. He also scored the team's only goal in the Milwaukee Cup. He also buried the game-tying goal vs. Xavier on Sept. 27 and netted his fifth goal of the year against Saint Louis (Oct. 1). He leads the team in shots (36), shots on goal (21), points (12) and goals (5). Coan is tied for the BIG EAST lead in goals in 2019.

MARQUEZ MAKES HIS MARK: Like his teammate and fellow forward Lukas Sunesson, Christian Marquez was able to score his first goal of the season on Sept. 24 at Wisconsin. The Berwyn, Illinois native volleyed a pass from Patrick Seagrist into the right corner of the net to score his first career goal as a Golden Eagle. The goal, which put MU up 1-0 on UW, ended up being the game-winner as Marquez and his team were able to keep a clean sheet. He followed it up with another game-winner, this time at BIG EAST foe Xavier, in a 2-1 win on Sept. 27. On Sept. 30, he was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for his performances. Marquez scored his third goal of the year and added an assist in a 6-1 win over Green Bay.

PRPA ENTERS TOP-10 IN CAREER ASSISTS: Senior captain Luka Prpa, the three-time all-conference honoree who sits in the top-15 all-time at Marquette with 55 career points, netted his first goal of the 2019 season against Saint Louis (Oct. 1). The goal came off a rebound from a penalty kick when the keeper saved his PK attempt but Prpa hustled to the net for a second chance and tapped in his own rebound. The senior tallied two assists vs. Green Bay, giving him 19 in his career, putting him at No. 10 all-time at MU.

SEAGRIST LEADING BIG EAST IN ASSISTS: Senior defender Patrick Seagrist has been as dependable as it gets in the first 11 games of the 2019 season. He's been on the pitch for almost every minute of action (only sitting 52 minutes). After tallying 12 points in his junior year on the way to all-conference honors, he leads the team and the BIG EAST with six assists this season. He also netted his first goal of the year Tuesday against Green Bay.

CUKAJ BREAKS OUT AGAIN: After missing all of the 2018 season because of injury, redshirt sophomore Manuel Cukaj didn't waste any time making his mark this year. In the Golden Eagles' first game of the year, Cukaj played all 107 minutes in a double-overtime thriller. In the 107th minute of action, he headed in the game-winner to beat UAB 2-1 off a free kick from Connor Alba. It's the second goal of his career and it helped him earn national honors as he was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. Cukaj scored a single-game career-high of two goals on Tuesday against Green Bay and he's tied for second on the team with three goals in 2019.

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles will head back to Milwaukee to prepare for another BIG EAST tilt, this time on the road at Villanova on Saturday, Oct. 19 at noon Central time. The game will be available for live streaming on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

TICKETS:
Tickets for the two regular season home games are on sale. Single game tickets are priced at $5 while groups of fifteen-or-more are $2 per person. For groups, call the ticket office at 414-288-4668.

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).