Women's soccer hosts Utah State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's soccer team returns to Valley Fields on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match against Utah State looking to continue its two-match winning streak after victories over Michigan and Minnesota.

A free live video stream of the game will be available through GoMarquette.com as will live statistics. The match also features the return of the always popular petting zoo at the east end of the Valley Fields bleachers.

The meeting marks the first in program history against the Aggies.

Following Sunday's match, Marquette is off until a Sunday, Sept. 15 showdown at cross-town foe Milwaukee at 7 p.m.

MARQUETTE (2-3-0): The Golden Eagles have won their last two matches, 1-0, after beginning the year with three losses …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 … MU started the 2018 season 0-5-1 and didn't pick up its first victory until Sept. 9 at Drake … Marquette's starting lineup has featured three freshmen in defenders Addie Shock and Josie Kelderman along with midfielder Alex Campana … Goalkeeper Maddy Henry made 10 saves in the lid-lifter against the Rams to become MU's all-time saves leader … She was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday, Sept. 2.

LAST TIME OUT: Freshman Josie Kelderman's 42nd minute goal, the first of her career, helped MU secure a 1-0 at Minnesota on Thursday evening …. Kelderman settled an Emily Hess set piece at the top of the 18-yard box and ripped the shot to the right upper 90 past the Minnesota keeper … The win was the second in a row over a Big Ten opponent for the Golden Eagles ... Marquette was outshot 13-4 for the game (9-0 to start the match), but Henry made nine saves for her 21st career shutout … She made six saves in the first half, but none bigger than her stop on a Celina Nummerdor penalty kick after Addie Shock was called for a foul in the box in the 25th minute.

UTAH STATE (2-2-0): Imelda Williams scored her second goal of the year on Wednesday evening to lift the Aggies to a 2-1 victory over Weber State in the 103rd minute in Logan … USU begins the season with six of its first seven matches away from home and 10 of its first 12 stretching into the middle of conference play … Prior to the win over Weber State, Utah State had posted just one goal on the season in its 1-0 victory over South Dakota on Aug. 25 … The Aggies fell 3-0 at Utah on Aug. 30 … Head coach Heather Cairns is in her 17th season coaching USU.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING…
"Kylie (Sprecher) had that one chance against Wisconsin in overtime and for her to be on the end of that ball and bury it they way she did, I can't be happier for her with what she's been through. Being out for about 16 months and having a season last year where she never was 100 percent healthy and then surgery after. These are all things that hopefully can give us a lift going forward. It wasn't the start we looked for at 0-3 but getting that win under our belt against a good team like Michigan is really important." – MU head coach Markus Roeders on the win over Michigan

"I think this Michigan win is exactly what we needed heading into this weekend. Minnesota is another big program that is going to bring a lot of challenges but a lot of similar styles to Michigan and Wisconsin. We are excited and I think we needed a win to stoke the flame a little bit. I love that we can play at home again on Sunday – nothing beats that." – senior goalkeeper Maddy Henry

"It's great because it's a fresh part of our backline and they both have things that they bring that are new and different from what we've had in the past. It's actually really exciting. Obviously Bri (Jaeger) and I have that connection on the left side and we like to think we're strong and steady there, but they're bringing something new that is great and getting better every game." – senior defender Emily Hess on starting freshmen defenders Josie Kelderman and Addie Shock

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 season 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 SHINES 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.

NEWCOMERS IN KEY ROLES
• Three newcomers played key roles during MU's two exhibition matches and a few others made contributions as well. Freshmen Josie Kelderman and Addie Shock started in the midfield and at center back respectively, while graduate transfer Natalie Yass scored twice in the midfield during the exhibition opener on Aug. 14. Both Kelderman and Shock started the season opener at Colorado State and freshman Alex Campana made her first career start at Ball State on Aug. 25.

SPRECHER LOOKING FOR BOUNCEBACK CAMPAIGN
• Forward Kylie Sprecher had a standout campaign as a first-year player in 2017 and is one of many Golden Eagles looking to bounce back to form after an injury-plagued 2018. The junior scored Marquette's first goal of 2019 on Sept. 1 to lift the MU past Michigan, 1-0, in the 108th minute. It was her first goal since her only goal last season against No. 4 Georgetown on Oct. 18, 2018. Sprecher led Marquette with six assists and three goals as a BIG EAST All-Freshman selection in 2017.

HENRY IS MARQUETTE'S CAREER SAVES LEADER
• Senior goalkeeper Maddy Henry was chosen as the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Sept. 2 after posting 10 saves in MU's 1-0 double overtime victory over Michigan on Sept. 1. Including the 1-0 OT loss at Wisconsin, she posted 15 saves, a 0.45 goals against average and a save percentage of .938 in 199:36.

• Henry enters her fourth season as a full-time starter in 2019 and became MU's all-time saves leader against Colorado State on Aug. 22 with 10 stops. She now has 313 in 65 career games and passed Mo Bothwell (288 saves, 1997-00) to move into the top spot. The Omaha, Nebraska native entered her final campaign ranked fifth all-time in minutes played (5,605:30) and eighth goals against (1.25). She also sat second in saves per match (4.68), fifth in save percentage (.786), sixth in career victories (29) and fifth in shutouts (19).