MSOC Set for Senior Night Showdown with Seton Hall

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team closes out its regular season home slate at Valley Fields on Saturday night against the Seton Hall Pirates.

First touch is set for 7:03 p.m. Central time with live streaming available on the BIG EAST Digital Network through Caffeine TV and YouTube. The senior night ceremony will begin at approximately 6:40 p.m.

The Golden Eagles and Pirates are in the midst of a five-team battle in the BIG EAST with two regular season games to play. The No. 4 through No. 8 teams in the league are separated by just three points as they jockey for bids to the conference tournament. Only the top six teams will get to compete in the postseason.

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:

Seven MU seniors will be playing in their last regular season game at Valley Fields Saturday night.
Marquette head coach Louis Bennett won his 90th game as MU head coach against Butler (Oct. 23).
MU is 7-1 this season when outshooting its opponent and 5-2 when scoring first.
The Golden Eagles are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games on senior night.
MU is in a three-way tie for fifth place and three points out of third place in the BIG EAST standings.
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 apiece.
Senior defender Patrick Seagrist leads the team and conference with seven assists.
Josh Coan netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season against Saint Louis on Oct. 1.
Patrick Seagrist was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll this week after leading a strong back line for MU in a 1-0 road win over Villanova.
Lukas Sunesson made the BIG EAST Honor Roll after posting a season-best three points in a 3-2 win over Butler on Oct. 23.
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 six games in net for MU, posting a 3-3 record and .714 save percentage.

OPPONENT FORM:
SETON HALL 5-8-1 (2-4-1 BIG EAST)
The Seton Hall Pirates are led by second-year head coach Andreas Lindberg. In his first season, Lindberg led The Hall to a 6-7-2 campaign, which included the program's first-ever win over BIG EAST rival Butler and its first conference road win since 2014.

This season, SHU is battling for its first appearance in the BIG EAST tournament since 2006. The Pirates have beaten DePaul and Creighton for their two conference wins and battled to a draw with No. 8-ranked St. John's on Saturday night to pick up a crucial point to keep pace in the postseason race.

SHU is led by graduate student Stephen Elias. He leads the team in points (11), goals (4) and assists (3). He's scored two game-winning goals this season in wins over Central Connecticut State and DePaul. Upperclassmen Carlton McKenzie and Camil Koreichi are tied for second in scoring on the team with three goals each. Junior goalkeeper Andreas Nota is 5-8-1 in net this season with a .774 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY:
Saturday's meeting will be the 15th meeting all-time between Marquette and Seton Hall. The Golden Eagles currently lead the series, 6-5-3. These two teams last met at Valley Fields on Sept. 23, 2017, resulting in a 4-2 MU victory. Last year, however, SHU won 2-0 in South Orange, N.J. The two teams have split the past five matchups 2-2-1, with the home team winning each of the past four.

SENIOR FEATURES:
Get to know our seniors by reading their senior features!

-Forward/Midfielder Connor Alba
-Forward Josh Coan
-Forward Griffin Jende
-Midfielder Luka Prpa
-Defender Patrick Seagrist
-Defender Leo Villa

KEY POINTS:
FOUR GOLDEN EAGLES MAKE BIG EAST HONOR ROLL: Four MU men's soccer players have been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll this season. Josh Coan earned the first nod on Sept. 13 after scoring two goals in a win over NIU. Griffin Jende made it on Oct. 14 after his brace against Green Bay and Patrick Seagrist earned the honor on Oct. 21 after a stellar defensive effort in a win over Villanova. Finally, Lukas Sunesson made the honor roll after tallying a season-best three points in a 3-2 BIG EAST win over Butler.

COAN HAVING BREAKTHROUGH SENIOR YEAR: Senior forward Josh Coan is atop numerous offensive statistical categories for his team in 2019. He leads MU in shots (45), shots on goal (26), points (14) and goals (5). He's also second on the team in assists. The Indianapolis, Indiana native also ranks in the top five in the BIG EAST in shots, shots on goal and points.

SUNESSON BREAKS OUT AGAINST BUTLER: Lukas Sunesson scored his first goal of the season at Wisconsin (Sept. 24) in a 2-0 road win. Despite creating a plethora of scoring chances, he had been held scoreless for nearly a month until he broke out against Butler on Wednesday. Sunesson tallied his first assist of the season on Josh Hancock's goal to put his team up 2-1. He followed that up with the eventual game-winning goal in the second half, aiding his team in a 3-2 BIG EAST win.

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 TIED FOR BIG EAST LEAD IN ASSISTS: Senior defender Patrick Seagrist has been as dependable as it gets in the first 15 games of the 2019 season. He's been on the pitch for a team-high 1,301 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 seven assists this season. He's also scored two goals in the past four games and ranks second on the team in points (11).

BENNETT ROTATES STARTING LINEUP: MU has had a plethora of starting lineups in its 145 games this season. 21 different field players have started games for Bennett's squad. Alba and Seagrist are the only players who have started in every game.

SCHEDULE TESTING GOLDEN EAGLES: Four of the Golden Eagles' 17 games are against opponents either ranked or receiving votes in the NCAA's preseason top-25 poll. Georgetown (No. 3) and St. John's (No. 8) are ranked while Saint Louis (1) and UC Davis (15) are receiving votes.

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles will conclude their regular season on Wednesday, Nov. 6 with a road game at DePaul. First touch is set for 2 p.m. with live streaming coverage by the BIG EAST Digital Network.

TICKETS:
Tickets for the final regular season home game is 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).