Golden Eagles Host Green Bay on Hispanic Heritage Night

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team looks to bounce back this week with a mid-week non-conference home match against the Green Bay Phoenix. First touch is set for 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday at Valley Fields.

The Golden Eagles will also be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Night at the pitch. The first 250 students will get free Marquette Futbol t-shirts, there will be a Spanish-speaking PA announcer to go along with the English-speaking one, and the concession stand options will be expanded.

Tuesday's meeting between MU and UWGB will be the 40th all-time between the two programs. The Phoenix currently lead the all-time series 20-14-5, but MU has won seven of the last 10 matchups. Their last meeting came in Sept. 2013, when the teams ended with a 3-3 draw at Valley Fields. The Phoenix are coming off a win last week against Cleveland State, while the Golden Eagles are looking to get back in the win column after two home losses.

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

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Marquette is 7-1-2 its past 10 games against Green Bay.
Tuesday's non-conference game marks the final out-of-conference tilt of the year for MU. Its final six games of the season are all against BIG EAST foes.
Goalkeeper Cedrik Stern, defender Gabe Kash and midfielder Christian Albelo all started for the first time this season on Friday night against No. 12 St. John's.
Three-time all-conference midfielder Luka Prpa scored his first goal of the season Tuesday night against Saint Louis. His penalty kick try was saved but he followed his shot and tapped in the rebound.
Freshman Christian Marquez earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after scoring game-winning goals against both Wisconsin and Xavier two weeks back. They were his first two career goals at MU.
Defender Patrick Seagrist leads the team with five assists in 2019.
17 different Golden Eagles have started in the first nine games and six have started every game.
Josh Coan netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season against Saint Louis Tuesday evening.
Lukas Sunesson and Christian Marquez scored their first goals of the season in a 2-0 win over UW.
Freshman keeper Jackson Weyman earned BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week after he posted his second clean sheet of the season two weeks ago at Wisconsin and held Xavier to one goal in a 2-1 win.

OPPONENT FORM:
GREEN BAY 2-5-2 (1-3-0 HORIZON)
The Green Bay Phoenix are led by fifth-year head coach Jeremy Bonomo. Hired in Dec. 2014, Bonomo has led the Phoenix to new heights in his first few seasons on the job. In 2017, he led his team to the school's first-ever Horizon League regular season title. They lost in the conference tournament championship game in 2017, missing out on an NCAA tournament appearance by one game.

In 2018, UWGB went 8-6-2, ending its season in the quarterfinals at conference championship. So far this season, the Phoenix are 2-5-2 with wins against WIU and Cleveland State. They also tied Northern Illinois 1-1 on Sept. 6, a week before NIU came to Milwaukee, a game which MU won 3-1.

UWGB has scored seven goals this season, with all seven coming from different players. 10 Phoenix players have tallied points this season and Lucian Lang leads the group with two assists. Karim Luba leads the team with 12 shots (three on goal) but is still looking for his first goal of the season.

SERIES HISTORY:
Marquette and Green Bay have met 39 times in the history of the two programs and the Phoenix currently lead in the overall series, 20-14-5. The two teams haven't met since Sept. 1, 2013, however, which resulted in a 3-3 tie at Valley Fields. The Golden Eagles hold a 7-1-2 record in the last 10 matchups between the two teams. MU won six consecutive games in the series from 2000-05.

KEY POINTS:
COAN LEADING MU: Senior midfielder Josh Coan came into the Sept. 13 game against NIU without any points on the season. He quickly changed that, notching career-high's 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 (34), shots on goal (21), points (11) and goals (5).

SUNESSON BREAKS THROUGH AT WISCONSIN: After finishing second on the team with five goals in 2018, sophomore Lukas Sunesson struggled to find the net in his first six games this season. He posted a season-high five shots (two on goal) against Creighton but couldn't bury any of his opportunities. That changed in a 2-0 win at Wisconsin, however, as he out ran the Badger defense down the left sideline and finished with his left foot to seal a 2-0 victory and score his first goal of the year.

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.

PRPA PUTS ONE HOME: Senior captain Luka Prpa, the three-time all-conference honoree who sits in the top-15 all-time at Marquette with 53 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 from Wind Lake, Wisconsin now has 18 career goals as a Golden Eagle.

ALBELO, KASH, STERN MAKE FIRST STARTS OF 2019: Sophomore goalkeeper Cedrik Stern, who played in five games as a true freshman in 2018, made his first start of the season Friday night against St. John's, making four saves on the evening. Redshirt freshman defender Gabe Kash also got his first starting nod and played 66 minutes while redshirt sophomore midfielder Christian Albelo notched 55 minutes out of the starting group.

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles will hit the road for a BIG EAST road battle at Providence on Saturday evening in Rhode Island. First touch is set for 6 p.m. Central time and live stats/stream will be available on Friars.com.

TICKETS:
Tickets for the three 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).