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Golden Eagles Look for Two Road Wins in the Empire State
Oct. 9, 2008
MILWAUKEE -
The Marquette women's soccer team will look to tally two BIG EAST Conference American Division wins this weekend as it closes out its four-match road swing in the Empire State. The Golden Eagles will faceoff against St. John's at 6 p.m. CT on Friday before traveling upstate to Syracuse, N.Y., for a noon kickoff with the Orange. Live stats will be available for both games. "We have two tough games on the road this weekend," said head coach Markus Roeders. "St John's hasn't scored many goals, but their defense has been excellent, which has helped them earn results. Playing them in New York is difficult but so are all road games in the Big East. We are expecting a tight match on Friday, after that we will worry about Syracuse. As a team, we are veterans of the road and we have developed a routine over the past weeks. It will be hard work, but the ladies are excited and prepared." Marquette (7-4-2, 3-1-1 BIG EAST) sits atop the American Division standings, with 10 points, two points ahead of West Virginia. The Golden Eagles return to action after posting a 1-1 record last weekend, defeating DePaul 4-2, and falling at top-ranked Notre Dame 3-1. Senior Katie Kelly, junior Anna Sawicki, sophomores Julia Victor, Kristi Laurenzi and freshman Danielle Martens each scored goals in MU's five-goal outburst last weekend. Martens' goal in the 60th minute marked just the fourth goal the Irish allowed this season and the first time Notre Dame trailed. Victor leads Marquette with a career best eight points on three goals and two assists, and Martens follows with five points (2g, 1a). "Last weekend was good for our squad and we learned from both matches. We battled the No. 1 team in the country and did well, and we overcame deficits versus DePaul and still came away with a win. Our scoring increased and the work in practices is paying off. We like our position and have to stay focused to reach our goals," said Roeders. The Red Storm (4-3-4, 0-2-2 BIG EAST) look to capture their first conference win of the 2008 season as they have been defeated by Pittsburgh (1-0) and Villanova (3-0), and tied Syracuse (0-0) and then No. 11 West Virginia (0-0) in BIG EAST play. St. John's has struggled offensively this season scoring just five goals over 11 games. On the flip side, the Red Storm has played strong defense limiting opponents to six total goals while posting seven shutouts. Amanda Santos leads the team with five points on two goals and one assist, while goalkeeper Kristin Russell has seen action in every game in net, boasting 57 saves and a 0.37 goals against average. Marquette is 3-0 all-time against the Red Storm in a series that began when the Golden Eagles joined the BIG EAST in 2005. Over its three matches, the Golden Eagles have only allowed one goal. Syracuse (4-5-2, 1-2-1 BIG EAST) is unbeaten on its home field (4-0-2) in 2008, and stands in fifth place in the BIG EAST American Division. In the Orange's last time out, they were shutout 3-0 at Villanova. SU will host USF on Friday before the Golden Eagles pay a visit to SU Soccer Stadium. Sophomore Megan Bellingham leads Syracuse with six goals, while three of its five other goal scorers are rookies. SU has scored 12 goals this season, but has allowed 21. Keeper Eliza Bennett-Hattan owns a 1.76 goals against average this season and has registered 35 saves. MU is 2-0-1 all-time against the Orange. Last time Syracuse and Marquette met in 2007, the two teams played to a scoreless draw at Valley Fields.
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