MSOC Wins Milwaukee Cup With 5-2 Victory

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette men's soccer team (4-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) posted a 5-2 win over Milwaukee Tuesday night at Valley Fields, led by a hat trick performance by senior defender Alex Mirsberger.

"This feels great. I've been a part of this game for a long time, 28 years, and winning it is always satisfying," said Marquette head coach Louis Bennett. "We had to bounce back off of a very difficult game on a short turnaround, and I thought we played really well."

In what was the 48th all-time meeting between the cross-town foes, the Golden Eagles brought home the Milwaukee Cup for the first time since 2014. Marquette's five goals were the most scored by either side in the rivalry matchup since 2000.

The Golden Eagles performance was highlighted by a Mirsberger hat trick that took just 33 minutes to capture. The Brookfield, Wisconsin, native scored on headers from crossing corner kicks in the 18th, 31st and 33rd minutes to help open up an early 3-0 lead. This was the first Marquette hat trick since C. Nortey's against Seton Hall on October 22, 2011.

The Panthers scored the final goal of the half and the first goal out of halftime in the 43rd and 53rd minutes, respectively, but it was all Marquette the rest of the way. In the 54th minute, Milwaukee goalkeeper Gijs Van Schouten was sent off with a red card for an intentional handball outside of the box, leaving the Panthers with just 10 men the rest of the way. Marquette's Abdoul Karim Pare capitalized following a free kick that ricocheted off of several players before finding its way off his foot and into the back of the net.

Marquette's final goal of the contest came in the 68th minute, when Beto Soto took a left-footed shot which deflected off of a UWM defender and into the back of the net with assists from Lukas Sunesson and Edrey Caceres. This was Caceres' third helper of the match, the first hat trick of assists by a MU player since Luka Prpa's four on Oct. 25, 2017.

On the night, Marquette totaled 23 shots including 12 on goal, while holding Milwaukee to just eight total. Freshman goalkeeper Ludvig Målberg spent all 90 minutes in net, recording three saves on eight shots faced.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles will open conference play as they take on BIG EAST foe Xavier on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. in Cincinnati.

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).