Sept. 30, 2005

MILWAUKEE - The No. 18 ranked Golden Eagles earned one of the best wins in program history tonight, defeating No. 5 and 2004 NCAA champion Notre Dame, 4-1, in front of a record crowd of 2,034 at Valley Fields. The contest marked the first time that a Marquette team had ever hosted a defending national champion in any sport.

Notre Dame got on the scoreboard first, as Jen Buczkowski scored from 10 yards out on a well set crossing pass from Kerri Hanks at the 20:01 mark. But MU responded quickly, as Meghan Connolly found the back of the net at the 25:45 mark. The junior forward managed to dribble past and beat two Irish defenders on the right side, unassisted, to tie the match at 1-1.

"What made us believe tonight was that tying goal by Meghan." said head coach Markus Roeders. "And then when we struck again, we were rolling."

At the 29:37 mark, Roeders inserted Alison Loughrin into the lineup and it paid immediate dividends. In the 38th minute, the junior forward took a pass from Julie Thompson into the box and chipped a shot past the oncoming goalkeeper from 15 yards out to give the Golden Eagles a 2-1 advantage.

Five minutes later, Loughrin struck again, this time on a header from 10 yards out. Connelly was credited with the assist on the goal as Marquette entered the halftime break with a 3-1 lead. In the 66th minute, after stealing a pass, Thompson blasted a shot to the right upper 90 from 18 yards out for MU's fourth tally of the night.

MU goalkeeper Laura Boyer had an outstanding night between the pipes, stopping 13 of 14 Notre Dame attempts. The Irish had a decided advantage in shots-on-goal, 14-4.

"Laura did exactly what she has done all year for us. She was terrific." Roeders said of the sophomore keeper.

"What a night to shine," said Roeders, whose team improves to 10-1-1 overall and 3-1 in BIG EAST play. "In front of a great crowd of fans and a beautiful Fall night, tonight was our night. I'm so proud of our team...it is very special."

Marquette returns to action on Sunday, when they host DePaul in a BIG EAST matchup. Game time at Valley Fields is set for 2 p.m.