MSOC to Host Butler Wednesday Night at Valley Fields

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team returns to Valley Fields for a pivotal BIG EAST matchup with the Butler Bulldogs on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

First touch from Valley Fields is set for 7:03 p.m. with live streaming available on the BIG EAST Digital Network through Caffeine TV and YouTube.

The Golden Eagles went to Indianapolis last year and came away with a clutch 2-1 road win at Butler to keep their BIG EAST tournament hopes alive. The overall series between these two teams in 5-5-0, but Butler has taken four of the past five matchups between the two teams.

STATS/STREAM:
Live stats will be available on GoMarquette.com while the BIG EAST Digital Network will provide live streaming coverage.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Marquette head coach Louis Bennett's next win will be his 90th career victory at the helm of MU.
With a win at Villanova on Saturday, MU has won five of its last nine road games dating back to 2018.
The Golden Eagles are 3-3 on the road this season, which marks the first time they've won three or more road games in a season since 2013, when they made the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Senior forward Connor Alba scored his third goal of the year (second game-winner) in a 1-0 win at Villanova on Saturday.
There's a three-way tie for second place in goals on the team, as Connor Alba, Manuel Cukaj and Christian Marquez have scored three apeice.
Senior defender Patrick Seagrist leads the team with six assists, and he tallied his first goal Oct. 8.
18 different Golden Eagles have started in 13 games and only two have started in every game.
Josh Coan netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season against Saint Louis on Oct. 1.
Freshman Christian Marquez earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 30 after scoring two game-winners against Wisconsin and Xavier.
Luka Prpa now has 20 career assists, which puts him at a tie for No. 9 all-time in school history.
Sophomore goalkeeper Cedrik Stern has started the last four games in net for MU, posting a 2-2 record and .720 save percentage.

OPPONENT FORM:
BUTLER 8-4-1 (2-2-1 BIG EAST)
The Butler Bulldogs are led by ninth-year head coach Paul Snape. He led his team to a 2017 BIG EAST regular season title while his staff was named the conference coaching staff of the year. The Bulldogs made the NCAA tournament in 2016 and 2017, making the third round in 2017 (third time in school history).

The 2018 season was a rebuilding one for the Bulldogs as they went 4-12-2 on the year. 2019 has been much improved for BU and has been highlighted by a 2-1 victory against then No. 5 Indiana. They sit in sole possession of third place in the conference as we enter the final two weeks of the regular season.

Snape's Bulldogs have scored 21 goals in 13 games this year while only giving up 14 goals. Wilmer Cabrera Jr. (13 points) and Brandon Guhl (12 points) are tied for the team lead with five goals, while Jack Haywood leads the team and the BIG EAST with seven assists in 2019.

SERIES HISTORY:
The all-time series between the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles is deadlocked at 5-5-0. MU won last year's meeting in Indianapolis by the score of 2-1. Josh Coan scored the game-winning goal in his hometown to seal the victory for his team. Prior to last year, Butler had won four straight in the series from 2014-17, including both games at Valley Fields. MU will be looking for its first home win over Butler since Oct. 9, 2013 on Wednesday.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
Head Coach Louis Bennett: "We we're unbelievably resilient [in Saturday's win over Villanova]. The guys showed huge personality as a team and individually. We've had to shuffle lineups because of injuries, but everyone stepped up in this game. Now we have to make a habit of this effort."

Senior Forward Connor Alba: "It was a massive three points for us on Saturday. We just wanted to get back in the playoff picture and continue to do so in these last couple weeks of the season."

KEY POINTS:

COAN RANKS THIRD IN 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 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 (38), shots on goal (22), points (12) and goals (5). Coan ranks third in the BIG EAST in goals in 2019.

MARQUEZ MAKES HIS MARK: Christian Marquez scored his first goal of the season on Sept. 24 at Wisconsin. 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 MOVES TO NO. 9 ALL-TIME AT MU IN CAREER ASSISTS: Senior captain Luka Prpa tallied his third assist of the season in a 1-0 win over Villanova on Oct. 19. It was his 20th career assist at MU, which puts him in a tie for ninth all-time in school history for career assists. He also tallied two assists vs. Green Bay on Oct. 8, giving him three assists in his past three games.

SEAGRIST RANKS SECOND IN BIG EAST IN ASSISTS: Senior defender Patrick Seagrist has been as dependable as it gets in the first 13 games of the 2019 season. He's been on the pitch for a team-high 1,121 minutes of action. After tallying 12 points in his junior year on the way to all-conference honors, he leads the team and ranks second in the BIG EAST with six assists this season. For his strong defensive performance against Providence, Seagrist was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Oct. 21.

ALBA NETS SECOND GAME-WINNER OF 2019: Senior midfielder Connor Alba was the hero for the second time this season on Oct. 19 at Villanova, as he scored the game-winner in the 86th minute to help his team pick up three points in BIG EAST play. He started off the regular season by scoring on a penalty kick and dishing out the game-winning assist in double overtime off a free kick against UAB. The Waukesha, Wisconsin native has accumulated 39 points in his career and is second on the team in 2019 with nine points.

JENDE EARNS NOD FROM BIG EAST: Coming into the Oct. 8 game against Green Bay, redshirt junior forward Griffin Jende had played just 79 career minutes at MU. Coach Bennett gave him the nod that night in his first career start, and he didn't disappoint. Jende scored the team's first and third goals of the game, leading the way in a 6-1 rout of the Phoenix. For his two-goal effort, the first points of his career, he was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll on Oct. 14.

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles head on the road for a BIG EAST battle at No. 10 Georgetown on Saturday, Oct. 26. First touch is set for noon Central time and live streaming will be available on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

PROMOTIONS:
The first 150 students in attendance will get FREE Chick-fil-A sandwich vouchers, which can be redeemed at halftime at the marketing table near the concession stand at Valley Fields.

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).