MU Returns to Valley Fields to Host NIU

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team comes back home for a non-conference match against the Northern Illinois Huskies. The game is set for a 7:05 p.m. start on Friday, Sept. 13 at Valley Fields.

MU started off its season strong with a thrilling, 2-1, double-overtime victory in its season opener over UAB on Aug. 30. The Golden Eagles followed it up with a 0-0 tie against UC Davis (Sept. 1) and a 2-1 loss at South Florida (Sept. 13).

For the first time since 2016, 14th-year head coach Louis Bennett and his lads will host the Northern Illinois Huskies. Led by third-year head coach Ryan Swan, NIU has tallied an 0-3-1 record through its first four games. They've lost three one-goal games, all to common opponents in DePaul, Green Bay and Loyola Chicago.

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

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

MU returns 11 players who started games in 2018, including four who earned All-BIG EAST honors.
The Golden Eagles return 21 of the teams 26 goals (80.8 percent) from last year.
Freshman goalkeeper Jackson Weyman was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Sept. 2 after posting a 0.42 GAA in his first two games. He's 1-1-1 on the year with an .824 save percentage.
Connor Alba, Louis Barraza, Luka Prpa, Patrick Seagrist and Lukas Sunesson all earned All-BIG EAST honors in 2018, which is the most Golden Eagles to garner all-conference honors since 2013.
MU is 8-2 in its last 10 meetings with NIU.
The Golden Eagles have a 3-6-1 record in their past 10 non-conference home games.
Three-time all-conference midfielder Luka Prpa played 49 minutes against USF on Friday night in his return from a foot injury. It was his first ever game played for MU that he didn't start.
Seven of MU's nine BIG EAST matches in 2019 will be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
Five of the Golden Eagles' 17 games are against opponents either ranked or receiving votes in the NCAA's preseason top-25 poll. Georgetown (No. 5), Xavier (No. 11) and St. John's (No. 19) are ranked while and Creighton (17) and UC Davis (1) are receiving votes.

OPPONENT FORM:
Northern Illinois (0-3-1, 0-0-0 MAC)
The Northern Illinois Huskies are led by third-year head coach Ryan Swan, who came to Dekalb after spending eight seasons as the head coach at Drury University. So far in his tenure at NIU, his teams have produced an 11-23-3 record. After going 3-11-1 in 2017, the Huskies made sizable improvements last season, going 8-9-1, making the MAC Tournament and tallying the most wins for the program since 2011.

The biggest win of the 2018 season for NIU came on Oct. 20, in a 2-1 victory against Akron. The Zips went on to the NCAA tournament and made it all the way to the College Cup Final before losing the National Championship match to Maryland, 1-0.

As a team, NIU netted 28 goals in 2018. This season, the Huskies return 23 of their 28 goals (82.1 percent). Leading scorers Jan Maertins (17 points; 7G-3A), Nick Markanich (16 points; 8G) and Anthony Markanich (15 points; 4G-7A) all returned for 2019. Maertins and Anthony Markanich are responsible for two of the teams' three goals so far this season.

SERIES HISTORY:
Marquette and Northern Illinois haven't played since 2016, when MU defeated NIU 4-0 in Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles have taken three of the last five and eight of the last 10 in the series from the Huskies. NIU last defeated MU on Sept. 18, 2015, prevailing in overtime, 3-2.

KEY POINTS:
MIRSBERGER MAKES MAGIC IN THE MIDFIELD: After redshirting in 2018, redshirt freshman Alex Mirsberger has made his presence felt in the MU lineup this season. In addition to starting all three games at midfield for the Golden Eagles, the Brookfield, Wisconsin, native scored his first collegiate goal on Friday night against South Florida. After teammate Patrick Seagrist made a run towards the end line, he dropped back a pass to Mirsberger, who calmly awaited at the edge of the box. He settled himself and ripped a goal from 25-yards out to tie the game in the 79th minute.

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. The Waukesha, Wisconsin, native has accumulated 33 points in his career and leads the team in 2019 with three points.

CUKAJ COMES UP CLUTCH: After missing all of the 2018 season because of injury, redshirt sophomore Manuel Cukaj didn't waste any time making his mark this year. In the Golden Eagles' first game of the year, Cukaj played all 107 minutes in a double-overtime thriller. In the 107th minute of action, he headed in the game-winner to beat UAB 2-1 off a free kick from Connor Alba. It's the second goal of his career and it helped him earn national honors as he was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week.

WEYMAN IMPRESSES IN GOAL, EARNS FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Redshirt freshman Jackson Weyman picked up his first victory in his first-ever collegiate start in net on Aug. 30 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 63rd minute. He also helped his team earn a clean sheet on Sunday against UC Davis. On Monday, the BIG EAST named him 'Freshman of the Week' for his performances.

NEWCOMERS MAKING NOISE: Although the Golden Eagles return 11 players with significant starting experience in 2019, several newcomers have impressed early on in the season. Redshirt freshmen goalkeeper Jackson Weyman and midfielder Alex Mirsberger have started every game and have made their mark. Junior Sam Thornton, a transfer from Gannon University (Pa.), has started all three games at forward while true freshman forward Christian Marquez has started the past two. Freshman defenders Gabe Kash and Louis Yuill have played all three games, and Yuill made his first start against USF.

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.

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.

PROMOTIONS:
A "lucky" Friday the 13^th raffle for students will take place during Friday evening's match against NIU. Students in attendance will have the opportunity to win numerous prizes upon entry.

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles have a busy week upcoming as they take on the Milwaukee Panthers at Engelmann Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. On Friday, Sept. 20, MU comes back home to open up BIG EAST play against Creighton at 7:03 p.m.

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).

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Players Mentioned

Connor Alba

Manuel Cukaj

Gabe Kash

Christian Marquez

Alex Mirsberger

Luka Prpa

Patrick Seagrist

Lukas Sunesson

Sam Thornton

Jackson Weyman

Louis Yuill