Marquette Ready to Play LMU in NCAA Tournament

CARY, N.C. – The No. 19/18 Marquette men's soccer team is set to make its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013 when it takes on the No. 9/4 Loyola Marymount Lions on Sunday, May 2. First touch is set for noon Central time from WakeMed Field in Cary, N.C. NCAA.org will provide streaming coverage.

The Golden Eagles (8-2-1, 5-1-1 BIG EAST) have been defined by their resilience and refusal to concede goals this season. Six of MU's eight wins have come in overtime and just one of its wins came by more than one goal. Prior to the BIG EAST tournament, MU had conceded just six goals all year.

MU is led by junior striker Lukas Sunesson, who leads the team and ranks third in the BIG EAST with six goals. He's joined up front by conference freshman of the year Beto Soto, a striker from Houston, Texas who's scored three goals (two game-winners) in 2021. Junior midfielder Zyan Andrade has been a breath of fresh air, netting two game winning goals and dishing out two assists.

Loyola Marymount (6-0-2, 6-0-2 WCC) is an established program under 23rd-year head coach Paul Krumpe. The Lions, who won the West Coast Conference tournament title, are making their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and eigth overall under Krumpe. This season, they had 10 all-conference award winners, including the coach of the year, offensive player, defensive player and goalkeeper of the year.

STATS/STREAM:
Head to NCAA.org for live stats and video. Follow on Twitter @MarquetteSoccer for in-game updates.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Marquette head coach Louis Bennett won his 99th game as the Marquette University head coach against Butler on March 27. He would be the second MU coach to reach 100 wins (Steve Adlard) with a win over Loyola Marymount in the NCAA tournament. It would be his second NCAA win at MU.
MU is 1-3 all-time in the NCAA tournament, with its only win coming in 2013 vs. Akron.
The Golden Eagles had five All-BIG EAST honorees including the Freshman of the Year (Beto Soto).
The Golden Eagles have won eight of their first 11 games for the first time since 2012 and the second time in Coach Bennett's tenure.
MU is 10-2-3 in the last 15 overtime games under Coach Bennett.
Lukas Sunesson (6 goals, 2 assists) has already set a new season-high in points (14).
Chandler Hallwood has been spectacular in net for Marquette. Twice he's been named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week and he ranks second in in saves (41) and save percentage (.872).
Newcomers have scored five of Marquette's 15 goals. Beto Soto has three of those goals while Zyan Andrade has two. Returners Sunesson (6), Cukaj (2), Mirsberger (1) and Thornton have the others.
Eight of Marquette's 11 games in 2021 have gone to overtime. MU is 6-1-1 in those games.

OPPONENT FORM:
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (6-0-2, 6-0-2 WCC)
The No. 9/4 Loyola Marymount University Lions, champions of the West Coast Conference, are making back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament after claiming the WCC in dramatic fashion, scoring goals in the 89th and 90th minutes against No. 23 Saint Mary's for a 3-1 win, securing their first conference championship since 2013. LMU finished the 2020-21 regular season undefeated going 6-0-2 and earned the automatic bid into the NCAA's.

Fresh off his 200th victory at LMU, the trip to the NCAA's will mark head coach Paul Krumpe's eighth appearance while at the helm of the Lions men's soccer program. The Lions enter the tournament with a well-balanced attack on offense and one of the best defenses in the country.

LMU will begin their run to the College Cup with the best shutout percentage in the nation at 0.750 along with the second-best team goals against average in the country at 0.237. Additionally, the Lions boast the third best save percentage in the nation at 0.900. LMU had 10 All-WCC honorees, headlined by Offensive Player of Year Noel Caliskan, Defender of the Year Gerardo Lopez, Goalkeeper of the Year Jacob Jackson, and Coach of the Year Paul Krumpe.

SERIES HISTORY:
The matchup between the Lions and Golden Eagles will be the second in school history and first in the NCAA tournament. The teams previously played each other during the 2006 season with the Lions claiming a 2-1 victory on Sullivan Field in Los Angeles, Calif.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Marquette men's soccer team fell to No. 12/11 Seton Hall, 4-1, in the BIG EAST tournament semifinals. MU played without Third Team All-BIG EAST keeper Chandler Hallwood, who missed the game due to COVID-19 protocols. Sam Thornton scored his first career goal for MU.

KEY POINTS:

MU HOLDS BEST RECORD SINCE 2012 SEASON

The No.19/18 Marquette men's soccer team (8-2-1, 5-1-1 BIG EAST) is having its best season since it started 12-0 during the 2012 BIG EAST Championship season.
The Golden Eagles needed extra time for three straight 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 holds a 3-1 win over DePaul (March 6), a 2-1 win over Xavier (March 17), a 0-0 draw with Butler (March 10), a 2-1 overtime win against DePaul (March 24) and a 1-0 win over Butler (March 27).
The Golden Eagles are 6-2-2 in their past 10 overtime games under Bennett.

CARDIAC KIDS CONTINUE TO COME UP CLUTCH IN OVERTIME

Marquette has won a nation-best six games in overtime this season. Eight of its 11 games in total have had to go to OT. MU is 6-1-1 in extra time this season.
For its six game-winning goals in overtime, Zyan Andrade and Lukas Sunesson have scored two apiece while Alex Mirsberger and Beto Soto each scored one.

MARQUETTE HISTORY IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

This will be MU's fourth overall trip to the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles made back-to-back trips in 2012 and 2013 in addition to the 1997 season. They are 1-3 all-time in the NCAA tournament, with the win coming in the first round of the 2013 tournament against Akron.
Their first ever NCAA tournament game was in 1997, which was a 1-0 loss to Bowling Green.
MU then lost 1-0 to Northwestern in the first round at Valley Fields. It followed that up in 2013 with a 1-0 win over Akron in Milwaukee. MU then lost to Virginia, 3-1, in the second round on the road.

MU STAYS RANKED FOR SIXTH STRAIGHT WEEK

The Golden Eagles entered the national conversation on March 16, coming in at No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches rankings.
Since then, they have gone 4-1 as a ranked team and have moved up as high as No. 16 in the country in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings.
After the loss to Seton Hall, MU dropped to Nos. 19 and 18 in the United Soccer Coaches and TDS rankings, respectively.
MU hadn't been ranked for six straight weeks since the 2013 season.

FIVE GOLDEN EAGLES EARN ALL-BIG EAST HONORS

Rookie striker Beto Soto was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year after scoring three goals with one assist in 2021. He's the second Golden Eagle to win the award. He was also named Third Team All-BIG EAST.
Four other Golden Eagles earned all-conference accolades. Junior striker Lukas Sunesson made the first team while Alex Mirsberger earned a spot on the second team. Soto, midfielder Zyan Andrade and goalkeeper Chandler Hallwood landed on the third team.
Sunesson made the All-BIG EAST First Team after a breakout season that saw him score a team-best six goals along with two assists. Two of his six goals were game winners, a mark that ranks him tied for second in the BIG EAST.
Redshirt sophomore defender Alex Mirsberger is the lone MU player to garner Second Team All-BIG EAST accolades. The Brookfield, Wis., native was one of two defenders to start and play in all 11 games, scoring one goal (game-winner vs. DPU) with two assists.
Junior midfielder Zyan Andrade made Third Team All-BIG EAST after scoring two goals and dishing out two assists in nine games in 2021. Both of his goals were game-winners in overtime (vs. SLU, Feb. 13; at CU, March 20) and he also had game-winning assist vs. DPU.
Keeper Chandler Hallwood also made the All-BIG EAST Third Team. The Halifax, England native started in nine of the team's 11 games, posting a 7-1-1 record in net. He led the conference in wins (7) while ranking second in saves (41) and save percentage (.872). He placed third in goals against average (0.60) and allowed just six goals all season.

SUNESSON MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF IN 2021:

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 then team-leading 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. He went on to net the game-winning penalty kick goal on March 27 in overtime against Butler. He also has two assists and was named First Team All-BIG EAST.

UP NEXT:
With a win, the Golden Eagles would play the winner of No. 3 Indiana and St. Francis Brooklyn in the Round of 16.

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).