MSOC Takes on UC Davis Tomorrow at Noon

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team takes the pitch again on Sunday against the UC Davis Aggies. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Valley Fields.

MU started off its season strong with a thrilling, 2-1, double overtime victory in its season opener over UAB last night. Manuel Cukaj scored the golden goal for the Golden Eagles in the 107^th minute off a header to clinch the victory.

UC Davis, led by 23^rd-year head coach Dwayne Shaffer, are coming off an impressive victory on Friday night as they defeated the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, 2-0. The Aggies have won 11 games in two straight seasons under Shaffer and return over 90 percent of their scoring from last season.

STATS/STREAM:
Live streaming and live stats will be available for the match once again on GoMarquette.com.

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles head to Florida to take on the University of South Florida Bulls on Friday, Sept. 6. The match is set for a 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT start.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

MU returns 11 players who started games in 2018, including four who earned All-BIG EAST honors.
Connor Alba, Louis Barraza, Luka Prpa, Patrick Seagrist and Lukas Sunesson all earned All-BIG EAST honors in 2018, marking the most Golden Eagles to garner all-conference honors in five seasons.
Taby, Sweden-native Lukas Sunesson made the BIG EAST All-Freshman team in 2018, making it the eighth-straight year MU has had a first-year player earn the honor.
The top five goal scorers from 2018 all return for the Golden Eagles this season. They combined to score 21 of the teams 26 goals (80.8 percent) last year.
Eight newcomers enter the MU program this fall, including three transfers and five freshmen.
Three-time all-conference midfielder Luka Prpa is working his way back from a foot injury and could make his season debut on Sunday.
Seven of MU's nine BIG EAST matches in 2019 will be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
Four of the Golden Eagles' 17 games are against opponents either ranked or receiving votes in the NCAA's preseason top-25 poll.

OPPONENT FORM:
UC Davis (11-4-5, 3-3-1 Big West)
Entering his 23^rdseason as the head coach at UC Davis, Dwayne Shaffer has had an extended run of consistent success with the Aggies. Since leading the transition of UCD to Divison I in 2007, Shaffer has helped his team earn three NCAA tournament bids, including two in their first couple years in the Big West.

Last season, UC Davis won 11 games for the second time in as many seasons. Like Marquette, UCD made it to the conference tournament championship game. They fell in a shootout, missing the NCAA tournament by just one game.

This season, the Aggies return eight of their top 10 scorers and 25 of their 27 (92.5%) goals. Senior Adam Mickelson lead the team with 14 points (four goals, six assists), while fellow senior Dylan Wood and sophomores Robert Mejia and Andy Velasquez scored three goals each in 2018.

SERIES HISTORY:
Marquette and UC Davis have never previously met.

KEY POINTS:
MU PICKED FOURTH, SEAGRIST AND PRPA EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Marquette's fourth-place selection by the coaches was bolstered by a pair of Golden Eagles on the preseason All-BIG EAST team, senior midfielder Luka Prpa and senior defender Patrick Seagrist. A Wind Lake, Wisconsin native, Prpa was an All-BIG EAST First Team selection in 2018, earning all-league accolades for the third time. He scored six goals and six assists for 18 points. Seagrist, who hails from Streamwood, Illinois, was also an All-BIG EAST First Team honoree in 2018 and was BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week four times last season.

GOLDEN EAGLES GO UNBEATEN IN EXHIBITION PLAY: After battling to a 0-0 draw in the exhibition opener against Loyola Chicago, MU 2-1 victories in home games against No. 9 Notre Dame and the Milwaukee Torrent, a local semi-pro team. Senior forward Connor Alba scored goals in each of the final two friendlies while newcomers Christian Marquez and Sam Thornton netted one apiece. In the three games, the Golden Eagles outshot their opposition 47-27.

ALBA CONTINUES STRONG PLAY: Senior midfielder Connor Alba has been off to a hot start this season. He netted goals in MU's final two exhibitions and 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. The Waukesha, Wisconsin native has accumulated 30 points in his career and tallied nearly a third of that in the season opener.

WEYMAN IMPRESSES IN GOAL: Redshirt freshman Jackson Weyman picked up his first career victory in his first-ever collegiate start in net last night for the Golden Eagles. He notched five saves on six shots, including an excellent save to tip a shot heading towards the top left corner over the net in the 63^rd minute.

MU BOASTS INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: This year's roster features players from England (2), Germany (2), Italy (2) and Sweden (1), as well as seven different states. Head coach Louis Bennett has shown he can bring players from all around the world to MU. The flags of all nations represented by this year's roster are displayed behind both team benches during home matches at Valley Fields.

TICKETS:
Tickets for all regular season home games are on sale. Single game tickets are priced at $5 while groups of fifteen-or-more are $2 per person. Season tickets are $45 and include admission to all games as well as an exclusive Marquette Soccer scarf.

Single game and season tickets are available online here. 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).

Marquette University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Connor Alba

Manuel Cukaj

Christian Marquez

Luka Prpa

Patrick Seagrist

Lukas Sunesson

Sam Thornton

Jackson Weyman

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