Sept. 26, 2008

Box Score

Box Score vs. Louisville (PDF)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Head coach Louis Bennett and the Marquette men's soccer team can take a collective sigh of relief. For 110 minutes Friday, the Golden Eagles dodged multiple bullets and played two men down for the duration of both overtime periods to escape Cardinal Park with a 1-1 draw against nationally ranked Louisville.

"I was neither happy with the tone nor the events of the game," said Bennett. "The game was anything but beautiful and not played in the spirit in which it was meant to be played. Having said that, I am proud of the way our guys fought. Most of them stayed focused despite very difficult circumstances. [Louisville] did everything but put the ball in the back of the net."

Louisville (6-1-2, 1-1-1 BIG EAST), ranked No. 20 in the latest NSCAA/adidas poll, rattled off a total of 32 shots -- compared to just seven by the Golden Eagles -- and set a new single-match record for number of shots taken by an MU opponent.

But perhaps no shot was more significant than the strike taken by Marquette's Anthony Colaizzi that found the back of the net in the seventh minute.

Colaizzi, who seemed to be the only player on the field from either team prepared to receive the ball at that particular moment, picked up a deflected loose ball at the top of the box and fired an unsuspecting shot into the back of the net. The decisive goal was Marquette's first in over two matches.

Additionally, for the first time since its home opener, Marquette (1-3-3, 0-2-1 BIG EAST) played with a lead for a majority of the match. While the Cardinals were guilty of botching a handful of prime scoring opportunities in the first period, credit must also be given to goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski, who made a pair of nice saves, and the MU defense as the Golden Eagles were able to fend off numerous Louisville chances.

"The irony of this game is, for the first 20 minutes of the match, our central defense struggled to adjust," said Bennett. "In the last 20 minutes, the team played some of their best soccer."

It appeared Marquette had trouble adjusting the pace of play and the Bermuda grass -- a shorter-cut, quicker surface than the Golden Eagles are used to -- early in the first half. MU had trouble maintaining possession and suffered from unforced turnovers.

Marquette continued to dodge bullets as Louisville applied more pressure on the MU defenders in the final 65 minutes. The Cardinals finally netted the equalizer in the 76th minute, when Austin Berry converted a header off the Cardinals' seventh corner kick of the evening.

Then things got dicey. Michael Greene was booked in the 83rd minute due to a hard foul at the top of the box and as a result was sent off. A few minutes later, Colaizzi was whistled after trying to break free from a pair of Cardinal defenders. Colaizzi's response toward the referee earned him his second red card of the season and Marquette was left with nine men on the field for the final two minutes of regulation, including both overtime periods.

"Losing both Michael Greene and Anthony Colaizzi was big price to pay for earning a point in the BIG EAST," said Bennett, whose team is still searching for its first conference victory of the season. "Sending-offs happen in soccer, justified or unjustified, and you have to just deal with them."

Louisville out-shot Marquette 7-1 in the extra frames, while the Golden Eagles spent much of the time clearing the ball away from an onslaught of Cardinal attackers. Pyzdrowski earned a season-high six saves.

Neither Greene nor Colaizzi will be available for Sunday's match at Cincinnati due to being booked. Freshman Calum Mallace will be questionable due to a laceration on his ankle suffered during Friday's match. In order to help round out the depleted travel roster, redshirt freshman Tyler Schwab is expected to join the team in Cincinnati.

Kick-off versus the Bearcats is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT Sunday.