MU Weathers the Storm to Beat Butler, 3-2

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team won its second consecutive match in BIG EAST play on Wednesday evening, defeating the Butler Bulldogs, 3-2.

With the win, the Golden Eagles moved into a three-way tie for third place in the BIG EAST standings. Head coach Louis Bennett and his bunch are now 7-6-1 (3-3-0 BIG EAST) on the season.

"I was proud of the win at Villanova, but I'm really, really proud of our performance today," Bennett said. "We made some accommodations because of who they are and who we are. We played a lot of guys who don't have a ton of experience, but they stepped up and played really well today."

Senior defender Patrick Seagrist scored his second goal of the season in the 16^th minute to put his team up 1-0. Josh Coan placed a corner kick right on the back post and Seagrist headed it into the top right corner of the net.

MU held the lead for the next 22 minutes of play before a handball in the box led to a penalty kick for Butler. BU's Wilmer Cabrera Jr. picked his spot in the lower right corner to tie the game at one.

Less than four minutes later, sophomore defender Josh Hancock picked the perfect time to score his first collegiate goal as he headed in a cross from Lukas Sunesson in the 41^st minute to give his team a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.

Josh Hancock's goal in the 41st minute allowed the Golden Eagles to head into halftime with a 2-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/dH9A2PyI2q
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) October 24, 2019

"The cross came in and Lukas [Sunesson] put a great ball on the back post. I just had to make sure I got it across the goal line," Hancock said.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Golden Eagles came out attacking and extended their lead to 3-1 in the 54^th minute when Lukas Sunesson scored his second goal of the season. Josh Coan put a shot on net and Sunesson collected the rebound and tapped it home.

Here's a look at the Lukas Sunesson's second goal of the season that put the Golden Eagles up 3-1 in the 54th minute. pic.twitter.com/e7oSFbgj4x
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) October 24, 2019

The Bulldogs answered back with a goal from Brandon Guhl in the 67^th minute, but MU's back line was able to hold them off for the final 24 minutes to seal the victory.

MU sophomore goalkeeper Cedrik Stern made several highlight saves to keep the Bulldogs at bay. He finished with a game-high seven saves as he moved to 3-2-0 as the starting keeper this season.

Cedrik Stern makes the save through traffic for his sixth save on the night! pic.twitter.com/OrtvQHXVxc
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) October 24, 2019

The Golden Eagles outshot the Bulldogs 18-12 tonight, moving them to 7-1 on the year when outshooting their opposition.

"We don't have guys that wait for their opportunity because they work for their opportunities," Bennett said. "This was a big three points we picked up today and we'll need to build off this on Saturday at Georgetown."

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles hit the road for a match at No. 10 Georgetown on Saturday, Oct. 26 at noon Central time. The match will be live streamed 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).

"I was proud after Villanova but I'm really, really proud of our effort tonight."

-Coach Bennett (@Loobe21) on his team's 3-2 win over Butler at Valley Fields. pic.twitter.com/KaZiFOJ9EN
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) October 24, 2019