MSOC Hits the Road to Take on DePaul

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette men's soccer team travels on the road for the first time in 2021 this weekend as it heads to Chicago to take on DePaul. The match is set for 1 p.m. Central time on Saturday, March 6. DePaulBlueDemons.com will provide a live stream and live stats.

The Golden Eagles (3-1, 0-1 BIG EAST) will look to bounce back strong after losing their BIG EAST opener to Creighton on Feb. 20. After a scoreless first half, the Bluejays struck first in the 51st minute to take a 1-0 lead. MU junior Lukas Sunesson headed in a masterful cross from Christian Marquez 13 minutes later to the tie the game at one. CU eventually scored the game-winner in the second overtime.

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 95th win this weekend.

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

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Marquette head coach Louis Bennett won his 94th game as the Marquette University head coach against Saint Louis (Feb. 13).
The Golden Eagles started the season 3-0 for the first time since 2012 and the second time in Coach Bennett's tenure.
MU is 7-2-2 in the last 11 overtime games under Coach Bennett.
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).
Oliver Posarelli was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Men's Team for the Week (Feb. 16).
Golden Eagle alum Danny Jarosz ('18) joined the coaching staff last year and is entering his first year as an assistant coach. He played and started in 13 games during his time as a student-athlete.
MU has 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.
MU returns six starters and 15 letterwinners from their 2019 team. They also added 13 newcomers.
Departed seniors Connor Alba, Josh Coan, Luka Prpa and Patrick Seagrist were all named to All-BIG EAST teams last year. They also combined to score 48% (12-of-25) of the team's goals last year.
The Golden Eagles will have to replace 64.9% of their points (48-of-74) from a season ago.
The Golden Eagles have used all three goalkeepers on the roster so far this season. Chandler Hallwood (2-1) and Cedrik Stern (1-0) have each collected victories after coming off the bench.

OPPONENT FORM:
DEPAUL (0-1-2, 0-1-0 BIG EAST)
Head coach Mark Plotkin begins his third season at the helm of DePaul. Plotkin, who was a four-year starter as a Blue Demon from 2006-2009, holds a 10-19-4 overall record through two seasons at DePaul.

The Blue Demons tied their first two games against Northern Illinois (2-2) and Loyola Chicago (0-0). They opened BIG EAST play on Wednesday against Butler with a 5-0 loss to the Bulldogs. Butler cruised to the win in the BIG EAST opener over the Blue Demons behind a hat-trick from Wlimer Cabrera, Jr.

DePaul is set to return eight of the nine players who appeared in each of the team's 17 matches during the 2019 season. The Blue Demons finished 5-9-3 (1-5-3) in BIG EAST play in 2019. They're led by Goalkeeper Drew Nuelle, who started all of DePaul's games in 2019 and made 49 saves while collecting six shutouts. Junior Jake Fuderer scored a team-best four goals in 2019 and has the team's two goals so far in 2020-21.

SERIES HISTORY:
Marquette holds the edge in the all-time series, owning a 27-6-1 record against DePaul. MU defeated the Blue Demons in last year's season finale, 1-0, in Chicago. The Golden Eagles have won two straight and four of the last six in the series.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Golden Eagles haven't played since Feb. 20, their BIG EAST opener at Creighton. After exchanging second half goals with the Bluejays, the two teams went to overtime to break the 1-1 tie. A CU goal in the 105th minute won the game and dealt MU its first loss of 2021.

KEY POINTS:

MU PICKED FOURTH IN BIG EAST MIDWEST DIVISION:

The Conference schedule will feature two geographic divisions this spring, with the Hoyas as the unanimous favorite in the East Division and the Bulldogs picked to win the Midwest Division.
The Marquette men's soccer team was picked to finish fourth in the Midwest Division in the BIG EAST Preseason Men's Soccer poll. Along with Butler, Creighton and Xavier were picked to finish ahead of MU in the Midwest standings.

2019 SEASON RECAP:

MU went 8-9-1 (4-5 BIG EAST) and made its second consecutive BIG EAST tournament trip in 2019. The Golden Eagles were the No. 6 seed and fell in the first round to Providence, 3-0. MU posted conference road wins at DePaul, Xavier and Villanova while defeating Butler at home. MU's top non-conference win came on Sept. 24 in a 2-0 win at Wisconsin.

MU STARTS OFF 2021 WITH THREE OVERTIME VICTORIES:

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.
The Golden Eagles are 3-2-1 in their past six overtime games under Bennett.

SUNESSON LOOKS TO MAKE A NAME FOR 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.
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 team-leading second goal of the year in the Feb. 20 loss to Creighton. Sunesson has scored 10 career goals.

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 play at Butler on Wednesday, March 10 at 1 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).