|
 For just the third time in program history, the Marquette men's soccer team is a conference champion. The Golden Eagles, who were picked to finish sixth out of the eight teams in the Big East Conference Blue Division in the preseason coaches' poll, celebrated their first Big East title Saturday night at home at Valley Fields.
Meanwhile, in the penultimate week of play in the Horizon League, UW-Green Bay had mixed results and UW-Milwaukee's frustrating run continued. Get all the highlights in our weekly recap of the Golden Eagles, Phoenix and Panthers.
 Marquette (9-7-2, 7-2-0 Big East)
Wednesday: No. 5 Connecticut 3, Golden Eagles 0. Sophomore Mamadou Diouf set up Allando Matheson's ninth-minute opener, then scored in the 20th and 55th as the Huskies (14-1-2, 5-1-2) powered past Marquette in a Big East Conference match watched by 2,975 fans in Storrs, Conn. Senior Amilcar Herrera (Milwaukee Riverside) had the Golden Eagles' best chances – he ran onto a through ball from sophomore Adam Lysak (Milton) in the 33rd but flicked the ball over the crossbar, and in the 78th his drive from the near post ended up going right into the face of a UConn defender in front of the goal. Junior goalkeeper David Check (Mequon Homestead) finished with five saves for Marquette, which put six of its 14 shots on frame.
Saturday: Golden Eagles 1, Pittsburgh 0. Senior midfielder Calum Mallace pounced on a deflected pass and scored from 23 yards out against keeper Hami Kara in the 59th minute and Check made five saves in his third clean sheet of the season as Marquette got past the Panthers (4-13-1, 2-7-0) at Valley Fields to win its first Big East Blue Division championship. It's the third regular-season conference title for the Golden Eagles, who also were the Conference USA co-champions in 1997 and claimed the outright crown in 2002. The lone goal came as Marquette sophomore midfielder Bryan Ciesiulka carried the ball forward in attack in the center of the park and tried to play in freshman C. Nortey on the left flank, only to see Pitt defender Shane Flowers cut the ball out and fall to the ground. However, the ball landed at the feet of Mallace, who ripped a right-footed shot past a diving Kara inside the left post for his third goal of the season – it proved to be his eighth career game-winning goal. Check, who had kept the match scoreless with a diving stop on Ryan Brode in the 56th, preserved the slim lead in the 77th with another impressive save, this time leaping to parry a shot by Manny Morgado off the crossbar. The Golden Eagles will play host to a Big East tournament quarterfinal against the winner of a first-round game between No. 22 Louisville and No. 19 Georgetown or Providence.
Audio (download mp3): Coach Louis Bennett | Mallace
Up next: vs. No. 22 Louisville, No. 19 Georgetown or Providence, Big East Conference tournament quarterfinals, Sunday, time TBA.
 UW-Green Bay (9-6-1, 4-3-0 Horizon)
Wednesday: Phoenix 3, Detroit 1. Sophomore forward Sam Krenzien (Wauwatosa West) scored twice in 4 minutes in the opening half hour to match his season total, then capped his hat trick early in the second half as Green Bay dropped the Titans (5-9-1, 1-4-1) in a Horizon League match at Santaga Stadium for its fifth consecutive win. Krenzien headed in a cross from Lawrence Talery in the 19th minute, then ran onto a ball from senior midfielder Tony Walls (Wauwatosa East), split two defenders and chipped the Detroit keeper in the 23rd as the Phoenix seized control. In the 53rd, Krenzien made it 3-0 when he took a pass from sophomore Luke Goodnetter (Brookfield East) and slotted home from the left side of the box. "As a team we're just happy for him," Green Bay coach Kris Kelderman said of Krenzien, who scored four goals last season. "We know that he can be a good finisher and it's just a matter of having a night like tonight. He had a couple other chances and realistically could have had five or six goals."
Saturday: Wright State 2, Phoenix 1. Forward Drake Stewart scored twice in 3 minutes, with both goals set up by fellow sophomore Will McAteer (Middleton), as the Raiders (8-6-2, 4-2-1) held on in Dayton, Ohio, to snap Green Bay's winning streak. Walls scored his team-best sixth goal of the season on a free kick less than three minutes after Stewart's second, but the Phoenix couldn't find an equalizer in the final hour. "Before the game we talked about what to expect from Wright State and we dug ourselves a hole," Kelderman said. "At the end of the day I felt we played well, we just gave up two easy goals, and we can't afford to do that." Green Bay is in fourth place in the league, one point behind Wright State and Cleveland State (4-2-1), heading into its conference finale against first-place Valparaiso (5-0-1). The top six teams qualify for the league tournament. "I'm concentrating on our play and what we can control," Kelderman said. "I'm going into the last week with that same attitude I've had all season long, and that's all I want us to think about." McAteer has two goals and two assists in the past three matches for the Raiders, who are coached by Bryan Davis (Milwaukee/UW).
Up next: vs. Valparaiso, 1 p.m. Saturday.
 UW-Milwaukee (5-9-2, 2-3-2 Horizon)
Wednesday: Wisconsin 2, Panthers 0. Match recap
Saturday: Loyola (Ill.) 2, Panthers 0. The Ramblers (4-11-1, 2-5-0) scored twice in a 6-minute span late in the first half, and senior Peter McKeown made six saves for the clean sheet at Engelmann Stadium as Milwaukee saw its winless streak reach seven (0-5-2). "There's no hiding it, we're obviously very disappointed the way we are playing right now," said Panthers coach Chris Whalley, whose team was blanked for the third straight match. "With the start we had in conference, we gave ourselves a platform and a decent foundation to have a great year and we've really kind of let things slip away and it's difficult to put a finger on it. Right now, we're just not getting it done." Sophomore James Howe opened the scoring on a deflected shot in the 31st minute and junior Eric Nock made it 2-0 with a penalty kick in the 37th. McKeown made the lead stand up, coming up with impressive saves on sophomore Robbie Boyd (Milwaukee Marquette) and freshman Nick Langford in the 84th and 85th minutes. UWM is in fifth place in the Horizon, but is just one point ahead of Illinois-Chicago and Butler (2-3-1), who each have two matches remaining – the Panthers close the regular season at UIC next Saturday night.
Up next: vs. Northern Illinois (nc), 7 p.m. Wednesday (LeWang Trophy); at Illinois-Chicago, 7 p.m. Saturday.
|
