March 31, 2007

LEXINGTON, Ky. - In its second date of spring action the Marquette men's soccer team made the long journey to take on a tough Kentucky squad.

The Golden Eagles came out of the day with some bumps, some growth and a lesson in what it takes to play a feisty, physical team. The Wildcats owned the action in the first half. The two teams played even in the second and Kentucky won the contest, 3-0.

All three UK goals came in the first half. Two were produced by set pieces -- one a result of a corner and the second came from a deep throw. The third goal was a result of an inability to clear a rebounded shot.

Head coach Louis Bennett said he wanted to give his team the opportunity to play against such a competitive team in the spring, giving his players the lesson of how to handle an aggressive team.

"It was a game of two halves. They man-handled us the first 35 minutes and we played even in the second half," Bennett said. "This was our testing ground. Kentucky is a physical, tough, in-your-face kind of team. Their coach demands that. We want to be a team like that, and we want to be able to play with a team like that."

In Kentucky, Marquette was playing the sixth most improved team from a season ago. Kentucky returns the majority of a 14-win team from the fall.

Bennett took the opportunity to play the Wildcats to give his team a chance to play a squad akin to the types of teams MU plays in the BIG EAST. This was a chance for players to step up and prove their abilities, drive and determination.

"We needed to see who would sink and who would swim," he said. "In the fall, I would have fixed some of the first-half problems with substitutions. Today, we wanted to see who would react positively to the pressure."

By game's end, Bennett got what he asked for from many players. Several Golden Eagles stepped up to the increased level of competition. Among those players were Dan Addis, Duncan Silvert-Noftle, Tim Jallow, Michael Greene and Matt Pyzdrowski.

"Duncan Silvert-Noftle came in to the game in the second half and showed that he could step up and play," Bennett said. "He had every reason to fail today. He had been battling a stomach flu and hadn't practiced in a week. He was a little out of shape as a result. Instead of giving into the intensity of Kentucky, he responded in a very positive way."

Addis, MU's goal scorer from a week ago, continued to show his ability in the spring.

"Danny Addis came out and battled tonight," Bennett added. "This is the second time he has shown that he can be the type of player we need and can use in BIG EAST play."

Despite giving up three goals, Pyzdrowski also proved that he can play to the level at which is expected.

"We didn't give Pyzdrowski a lot to work with tonight, but he played the best he could in the situation," Bennett said. "There were a lot of people in the area in the first half and he worked through it."

The team responded to some changes from the first half and played a stronger second half, keeping the ball out of the net.

"I give credit to our players in the second half for realizing we needed to do a better job of matching their physical play," Bennett said. "Some guys came through tonight with some positive credentials. However, goal scoring is an issue and will continue to be. We haven't added anyone since the fall, so it's not magically going to be fixed."

Bennett added that he needed to play this game to balance the rest of the spring schedule.

"Kentucky and UWM are the meat of our spring schedule," he said. "We need the good players from this game to show they can dominate in the other games. We also needed a chance to test us so we can't say that everything is good and we have accomplished what we needed to."

The Golden Eagles have two weeks before their next spring contest. Marquette hosts Wis.-Milwaukee at 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 15 at Valley Fields in the soccer stadium.