MSOC beats DePaul 1-0

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - Marquette men's soccer team (6-6-1, 3-3-1 BIG EAST) won 1-0 against DePaul in Saturday night's contest at Valley Fields.

Marquette and DePaul both had early opportunities on the offensive end to get on the board, but strong defense and goalkeeping kept each offense at bay. Marquette had an opportunity late in the first half when a foul occurred inside the penalty box against DePaul in the 45th minute. Forward Sam Thornton had his penalty shot attempt block by DePaul's goalkeeper, Ghandhi Cruz. The two teams went into the half all tied up.

Goalkeeper Chandler Hallwood stayed busy in the net, recording five first-half saves.

Defense continued to be the story early in the second half. That changed in the 58th minute when defenseman Alex Mirsberger found the net off a corner kick from Beto Soto to score his first goal of the season and give Marquette the first lead of the match.

Mirsberger's goal would be the difference in the match as Marquette's defense did the rest of the work keeping DePaul off the board for the remainder of the contest to seal Marquette's 1-0 victory.

"Winning a game like this is a battle," said Marquette head coach Louis Bennett. "DePaul have gotten points on the road, they don't let many goals in, they're good on the break, they have a lot of tough, talented players. For us, getting a BIG EAST win at home after having to grind, having some down periods and missing a penalty, that can sometimes derail you. We had to get ourselves back together at halftime, and in the second half I thought we had most of the game."

Chandler Hallwood recorded seven saves in the match to shut out the Blue Demons.

NEXT UP: Marquette will go on the road to face Butler on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. CT.

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).