MSOC Travels to Creighton in Battle for First Place

OMAHA, Nebraska – The Marquette men's soccer team heads back on the road to take on the Creighton Bluejays on Saturday, March 20 at 1 p.m. Central time.

The Bluejays won the first meeting between the two teams, 2-1, in overtime at Valley Fields on Feb. 20. MU trails CU by a half game in the BIG EAST Midwest Division and can move into first place with a win on Saturday.

The Golden Eagles (5-1-1, 1-1-1 BIG EAST) are off to their best start to a season since the 2012 BIG EAST championship season when they started 12-0. So far in 2021, MU has outscored its opponents 9-4 with four clean sheets and has gotten scoring contributions from seven different players.

Junior striker Lukas Sunesson is in the midst of a breakout season, leading the team and ranking second in the BIG EAST with five goals. He's joined up front by budding star Beto Soto, a freshman from Tomball, Texas who's scored two game-winning goals already in 2021.

Creighton (3-3-1, 3-1-0 BIG EAST) had lost two straight games before beating Butler 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon in Omaha. With only three conference games left after Saturday, the Bluejays will be looking to expand their lead in the division.

Head Coach Louis Bennett looks to push towards being the second coach in school history to hit the 100-career win mark (Steve Adlard, 1992-05, 140 wins), by clinching his 97th win on Saturday.

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

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Marquette head coach Louis Bennett won his 96th game as the Marquette University head coach against Xavier on Wednesday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles have won five of their first seven games for the first time since 2012 and the second time in Coach Bennett's tenure.
MU is 7-2-3 in the last 12 overtime games under Coach Bennett.
Lukas Sunesson was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll (March 8) after netting a brace at DePaul.
Chandler Hallwood was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the week (Feb. 15) and Zyan Andrade was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll and College Soccer News Team of the Week (Feb. 15).
Hallwood ranks second in the BIG EAST in saves (32) and first in save percentage (.889).
Oliver Posarelli was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Men's Team for the Week (Feb. 16).
MU won its first three games in 1-0 overtime thrillers. First, freshman Beto Soto scored the game-winner from Christian Marquez in the season-opener over Loyola Chicago. Lukas Sunesson was the hero vs. NIU, netting the winner off an Alex Mirsberger cross. Zyan Andrade scored the golden goal against on a left-footed strike off a loft from Alex Mirsberger against Saint Louis.
MU returns six starters and 15 letterwinners from their 2019 team. They also added 13 newcomers.

OPPONENT FORM:
CREIGHTON (3-3-0, 3-1-0 BIG EAST)
Led by second-year head coach Johnny Torres, the Creighton Bluejays currently lead the BIG EAST Midwest Division standings by a half game with three to play. Torres spent 12 years as a CU assistant.

Diego Gutierrez leads the team with four goals after scoring two each against Xavier and Butler in the past couple games. Daniel Espeleta also has two assists and ranks second on the team in that category.

The Bluejays were picked second in the division behind Butler in the preseason polls and junior goalkeeper Paul Kruse earned Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year honors.

SERIES HISTORY:
Marquette and Creighton have played 17 times in the history of the two programs, with Creighton leading the series, 9-7-1. Saturday's meeting will be the second of the 2021 season between the two teams. The Bluejays handed MU its only loss of the season, a 2-1 overtime defeat on Feb. 20. CU has won two straight in the series, but MU won in Omaha in 2018 in PK's in the BIG EAST Tournament Semis.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Marquette men's soccer team defeated the Xavier Musketeers 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Valley Fields. Lukas Sunesson started the scoring with his team-leading fifth goal of the season and Manuel Cukaj's header proved to be the eventual game-winner in the first half.

KEY POINTS:

MU OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2012 SEASON

The Marquette men's soccer team (5-1-1, 2-1-1 BIG EAST) is off to its best start since the 12-0 start to the 2012 BIG EAST Championship season.
The Golden Eagles have needed extra time for their three victories to start the spring 2021 season. All three games against Loyola Chicago, Northern Illinois and Saint Louis were tied 0-0 before being decided in the first overtime period.
Freshman striker Beto Soto was the hero in game one, taking a through-ball from Christian Marquez for a left-footed strike past the diving keeper.
Junior Lukas Sunesson netted his ninth career goal to defeat Northern Illinois on Sunday, taking a one-touch goal off a marvelous cross from Alex Mirsberger five minutes into the first overtime.
Junior midfielder transfer Zyan Andrade scored his first career goal in a win over Saint Louis on Feb. 13, MU's first win over the Billikens since 2002.
MU finally met its overtime match against Creighton on Feb. 20, falling 2-1 in the 105th minute.
MU also holds a 3-1 win over DePaul (March 6) and a 2-1 win over Xavier (March 17) in addition to a 0-0 draw with Butler (March 10).
The Golden Eagles are 3-2-2 in their past seven overtime games under Bennett.

SUNESSON MAKING A NAME HIMSELF:

A junior from Taby, Sweden, Lukas Sunesson is Marquette's most productive returning scorer in 2021. In 2018 he had five goals, which put him second on the team. His performance as a freshman earned him a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman team and he made an appearance on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Last year, he played in all 18 games and tied for second on the team with three goals to go along with one assist. This spring he has huge goals he wants to accomplish and he's well on his way to hitting them.
Sunesson got on the board with his first goal of 2021 after a one-touch goal off a cross from Mirsberger sealed MU's victory over NIU on Feb. 7. He scored his second goal of the year in the Feb. 20 loss to Creighton. He then went on two net a brace in a 3-1 win at DePaul.
The junior added to his total with his team-leading fifth marker of the year to open the scoring in a 2-1 win over Xavier.

CHANDLER HALLWOOD IS A GAME-CHANGER AT GOALKEEPER:

Sophomore keeper Chandler Hallwood has made his mark in his first five games at MU. The Gannon University transfer is 4-1 with 32 saves, an .889 save percentage and a 0.59 goals allowed average.
He was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Feb. 15 and he's helped keep four clean sheets.
He saved a career-high seven shots on Feb. 20 against Creighton. Although he gave up two goals, his seven saves still helped him earn BIG EAST Honor Roll accolades.
Hallwood earned his third weekly honor from the league this week. He tied a career-high with seven saves in a 0-0 draw at Butler, keeping his fourth clean sheet of the year.
Hallwood tied his career-best with seven saves against Xavier on Wednesday.

MU BOASTS INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR:

This year's roster features players from England (3), Brazil (2), Germany (2), Italy (2) and Sweden (1), as well as six 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 typically displayed behind team benches during home matches at Valley Fields.

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles host DePaul on Wednesday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Central time.

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).