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 It was a perfect Saturday for the Marquette, UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee men's soccer teams, as all three teams opened their conference schedules with victories.
Each of the three games played out in different fashions, with a comeback, a dominating performance that didn't yield any goals until midway though the second half and a win over a perennial conference power that hadn't lost at home lately.
Get all the highlights in our weekly recap of the Golden Eagles, Phoenix and Panthers.
 Marquette (3-4-1, 1-0-0 Big East)
Saturday: Golden Eagles 3, Syracuse 2. Freshman C. Nortey scored his second goal of the night in the 88th minute as Marquette came back twice and beat the Orange (2-5-0) in a Big East Conference opener in New York. Nortey picked up the ball after a header by sophomore Eric Pothast and finished against Syracuse goalkeeper Phil Boerger for his team-best fifth goal of the season and first game-winner to cap the Golden Eagles' second straight come-from-behind road victory. Earlier, the Ghanaian equalized for Marquette, heading in a free kick by senior Calum Mallace in the 26th. After the Orange went ahead again, junior forward Chris Madsen (Brookfield Central) tied it just five minutes after entering the match, running onto a through ball from sophomore midfielder Bryan Ciesiulka on the left side and beating Boerger on a shot to the far post. The game featured 45 shots and both keepers set career highs for saves: Golden Eagles junior David Check (Mequon Homestead) stopped 12 shots and Boerger, who played for the Madison 56ers in the National Premier Soccer League in 2008, logged nine stops.
Up next: at Wisconsin (nc), 7 p.m. Wednesday; vs. Rutgers, 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
 UW-Green Bay (4-2-1, 1-0-0 Horizon)
Saturday: Phoenix 2, Loyola (Ill.) 1. Green Bay dominated play against the Ramblers (1-6-1) and finally broke through on goals by sophomore defender Aaron Cranfill (New Berlin West) and junior forward Alonso Flores in a 74-second span in the second half to win a Horizon League opener at Santaga Stadium. "The one thing we said at halftime that was missing in the game was the number on the scoreboard," Green Bay coach Kris Kelderman said. "We challenged them at halftime to finish on restarts, because we were getting a lot of opportunities." Cranfill scored his first career goal, converting off a free kick from senior midfielder Tony Walls (Wauwatosa East) at the 68-minute mark. Just more than a minute later, Flores latched onto a through ball from junior defender Andrew Stone (Green Bay Preble) and doubled the lead with his second goal of the year. Loyola, which was outshot 21-4 on the night, halved the lead through Eric Nock in the 72nd minute but managed just two shots – both off target – the rest of the way. Senior keeper Peter McKeown made a career-high 10 saves for the Ramblers, who had freshman midfielder Eric Schoendorf (Waukesha Catholic Memorial) in their starting lineup and brought freshman forward Andrew Raymonds (Brookfield Central) off the bench.
Up next: at UW-Milwaukee (Chancellors' Cup), 7 p.m. Wednesday; at Illinois-Chicago, 7 p.m. Saturday.
 UW-Milwaukee (4-4-0, 1-0-0 Horizon)
Saturday: Panthers 3, Butler 1. Senior Robert Refai scored the go-ahead goal in the 49th minute and Nick Langford, one of eight freshmen in UW-Milwaukee's starting lineup, added a late insurance goal as the Panthers snapped the Bulldogs' 15-game conference home unbeaten streak in a Horizon opener. Freshman midfielder Gerardo Saavedra (Milwaukee Messmer) had two assists for UWM, while freshman goalkeeper Josh Rohde (Waukesha West) made three saves to win his collegiate debut. "Obviously, it's a great victory for the program and we're really excited about the result," said Panthers coach Chris Whalley, whose team ended a three-game losing streak. "We started eight freshmen and played very well in the second half. The guys really responded after halftime and took their chances very well. I was really pleased with the way we played." Sophomore defender James Ashcroft gave UWM an early lead, volleying in a flick from freshman Laurie Bell after a corner kick by Saavedra. Butler (4-3-1) pulled even on Zach Steinberger's goal in the 38th, but the Panthers controlled play after halftime – UWM had a 10-3 advantage in shots – and went ahead as Refai beat Bulldogs keeper Jon Dawson to a ball from senior Keegan Ziada and finished into the vacant net for his fourth goal of the year. Langford got his second of the season, heading in a ball from Saavedra, and UWM went on to the victory despite being reduced to 10 men when freshman defender Zach Stevenson was sent off for his second yellow card of the match in the 82nd.
Up next: vs. UW-Green Bay (Chancellors' Cup), 7 p.m. Wednesday; vs. Cleveland State, 7 p.m. Saturday.
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