Oct. 24, 2008

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - On a night dedicated to its three seniors, the Marquette women's soccer team couldn't overcome an early deficit and dropped a 2-0 decision to No. 17/15/15 West Virginia Friday night at Valley Fields. The loss keeps Marquette in second place in the BIG EAST American Division (9-6-3, 5-3-2 BIG EAST), while the Mountaineers capture the division crown and improve to 11-2-5 (6-1-3 BIG EAST).

"It isn't the result we hoped for but our team played tough," said head coach Markus Roeders. "We struggled the first 15-20 minutes and their first goal was a result of us playing under pressure. They are an excellent team and deserved to win the Division this year. The margin of error in these types of games is small. We can't say enough about the play of our three seniors; they showed tremendous poise and character. Although we lost, they should walk away with their heads high."

West Virginia scored its first goal in the 12th minute of the game. Deana Everett brought the ball up the left side of the field and fed it to Blake Miller at the top of th box. Miller controlled the ball and finished her shot past Kulla to go ahead 1-0.

West Virginia dominated play in the first half. Its goal was one of 10 shots it registered in the first, while Marquette struggled to find a rhythm offensively. The Golden Eagles launched three shots in the first stanza. Their best chance came when sophomore Julia Victor found freshman Rachael Sloan inside the box. Sloan controlled the ball, but her shot was knocked away by a Mountaineer defender.

Adjustments were made in the second half and the Golden Eagles sense of urgency was heightened. Marquette came out of the 15-minute intermission and fired off four shots over the 11 minutes of the second half.

Victor made nice run at the the goal and dished the ball off to freshman Danielle Martens, but she couldn't finish the opportunity as keeper Kerri Butler dove and smothered Martens' possession.

Overall, the Golden Eagles had a better showing in the second frame and out shot the Mountaineers, 5-3.

"The adjustments we made worked and slowly the tide turned in our favor. We had some very good spells towards the end of the first and the 30 minutes in the beginning of the second half. A few opportunities presented themselves but it wasn't meant for us to score. The attacks was there but some shots were a little off and WVU's keeper commanded the box well," said Roeders.

Erica Henderson found the back of the net at the 88:41 mark to seal the 2-0 win for the Mountaineers.

For the game, freshman Natalie Kulla made four saves over 90 minutes of play, while Butler pitched in a three-save shutout for WVU.

The Golden Eagles will close out the regular season Sunday when they host Pittsburgh at Valley Fields at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Time Warner Sports 32.

"Despite what happened tonight, we have a lot to play for on Sunday. Our team is resilient and we have no doubt that they will come out with the needed energy and pride," said Roeders.