WSOC heads across town to Milwaukee on Sunday night

Weekly Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's soccer team heads across town on Sunday night to face long-time opponent Milwaukee at 7 p.m. at Engelmann Stadium.

The match will air live on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available courtesy of MKEPanthers.com.

Sunday marks the 28th meeting all-time between the cross-town foes and the Golden Eagles own a narrow 10-9-8 edge in the series history. Marquette claimed last year's match at Valley Fields, 1-0, on Bri Jaeger's 73rd minute header and used six saves from goalkeeper Maddy Henry to preserve the shutout. That victory snapped Milwaukee's 27-match winning streak, the 12th longest in NCAA history, and gave MU its first series win since 2013. The Golden Eagles are 4-4-5 against the Panthers at Englemann.

Following Sunday's match, Marquette welcomes Northern Illinois and Colorado State to Valley Fields on Sept. 20 and 22, respectively. The NIU game on Sept. 20 at 5 p.m. will precede the 7 p.m. men's match.

MARQUETTE (2-4-0): The Golden Eagles own wins over Michigan and Minnesota, but are coming off a 5-1 home defeat at the hands of Utah State on Sunday afternoon … It was MU's worst home loss since its first season of competition in 1993 (L, 5-1 vs. Minnesota) … MU picked up its first win of the season on Sunday, Sept. 1, courtesy of Kylie Sprecher's 108th minute goal in double overtime … Sprecher's score was MU's first goal of the year, ending a stretch of 379:36 to start the year without a tally … Freshman Josie Kelderman scored the winner in the 1-0 victory at Minnesota on Sept. 5 in the 42nd minute but MU was outshot 13-4 … Goalkeeper Maddy Henry made 10 saves in the lid-lifter at Colorado State to become MU's all-time saves leader … She was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday, Sept. 2.

MILWAUKEE (6-1-0): The Panthers are 6-1 on the year and already own a pair of victories over BIG EAST schools … UWM opened the season with a 2-1 win at DePaul and downed Butler, 3-2, at Engelmann Stadium on Sunday afternoon … Most recently, Milwaukee posted a 3-0 shutout over Western Illinois on Thursday night, in which 22 Panthers saw action … Haley Johnson, who leads the squad with five goals and three assists, notched two helpers in the win over the Leathernecks as UWM outshot WIU, 15-4 … Milwaukee was a near unanimous choice to win the Horizon League in the preseason coaches poll, garnering all but one of the nine possible first-place votes.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING…
"We had a little bit of a setback in our last game against Utah State but I think that is only going to motivate us that we can't just show up. We've got to come out like we did against Michigan and Minnesota because UWM is a great rival and they're going to bring a lot of energy. This whole week of practice has been very intense and we have to make sure that it carries into the game on Sunday. We're excited." – sophomore midfielder Madison Burrier

"We've played so many times over the years and we've had some great battles, including last year. It's one of those electric matchups that you always look forward to every year. We're going back into their environment this year and they are having another good season. I think we've made some nice strides forward – last Sunday we hit a bit of a roadblock – but our training has been good this week. We expect everything that Marquette versus Milwaukee will give you. It's about bragging rights, neighbors, Milwaukee and everything that you can throw into that environment. I expect it to be a great game like it has been all along – closely contested. We still have to be better with our attack, being more clinical and better finishing our opportunities inside the 18." – Marquette head coach Markus Roeders

STARTING LINEUP ROTATION
• Marquette head coach Markus Roeders has used a different starting lineup for all six matches so far in 2019. Goalkeeper Maddy Henry, midfielder Maddie Monticello along with defenders Bri Jaeger and Emily Hess are the only four players to have started every contest. Kylie Sprecher and Abby Hess have started all but one match apiece at forward, while Katrina Wetherell and Rachel Johnson can say the same in the midfield. Freshman Josie Kelderman, who has solidified herself as MU's starting right back, started the season opener at Colorado State in the midfield.

• Marquette rolled out 11 different starting lineups during the 2018 season. Henry, Jaeger and Emily Hess started all 18 matches on the back end and were joined by then-freshman Wetherell, who started every match in the midfield.

TWO WINS OVER BIG TEN TEAMS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2011
• Marquette's back-to-back wins over Michigan and Minnesota marked the first time since the 2011 season that the Golden Eagles have earned victories over two Big Ten squads in the same year. That year MU knocked off Northwestern (1-0, OT) and Indiana (2-1) during a 18-4 season that included a BIG EAST American Division Championship and a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Marquette fell to another Big Ten team, Penn State, 4-1, to end its season.

KELDERMAN PRODUCES AT RIGHT BACK
• Josie Kelderman from nearby Glendale, Wisconsin has made a large impact early in her freshman season. The rookie started the first two matches in the midfield before switching to the backline, where she played almost exclusively for North Shore United during her youth career. The 5-foot-6 right back has been dynamic in that role since her first start on defense at then-No. 15 Wisconsin on Aug. 29. She helped keep Michigan off the board until Kylie Sprecher's double OT winner on Sept. 1 and provided the winning tally in MU's 1-0 victory at Minnesota on Sept. 5.