No. 23 MSOC Earns 2-0 Victory At Butler

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The Marquette University men's soccer team (7-1-1, 1-1-0 BIG EAST) took a 2-0 win over Butler (1-5-0, 1-1-0 BIG EAST ) on Saturday evening in Indianapolis.

Marquette opened the match controlling the tempo and possession early and throughout the first half. Marquette's first shot came in the first 10 minutes from Abdoul Karim Pare but the left boot shot was wide left of the goal.

In the 23^rd minute, Butler was attempting to clear possession in the box and tripped over the ball when Pare stole possession and scooped the ball over the Bulldogs' goalie to score. Pare's goal was his second goal of the season and gave MU a 1-0 advantage over Butler.

Marquette kept the pressure on Butler for the remainder of the first half, MU took a 9-3 advantage in shots into halftime.

Butler opened the second half with pressure on Marquette and with three early shots but could not find the net, because MU's back line disrupted each attempt.

In the 66^th minute, Brooklyn Merl found the back of the net after Antonio Costabile broke up a throw-in pass by the Bulldogs that rolled to Merl, and he finished the play to tally his sixth goal of the season.

The Golden Eagles kept the pressure on the Bulldogs for the remainder of the match after Merl's goal but could not find the back of the net for the third time of the night.

Marquette's back line held strong for the entirety of the match, not letting Butler get any quality shots on goal in the second half. Ludvig Malberg recorded his fourth clean sheet of the season with two saves in the contest.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles open a three-match homestand on Friday, September 29 as the team host St. John's for a 7:05 p.m. CT matchup at Valley Fields.

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).