Blue Demons Held off by Marquette in Milwaukee

Saturday, October 16

Milwaukee, Wis.

7:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

6-6-1, 2-3-1

Marquette

6-6-1, 3-3-1

DePaul

Marquette

Blue Demons Held off by Marquette in Milwaukee

10/16/2021 9:13:00 PM | MEN'S SOCCER

Box Score

A second-half goal was the difference in the Golden Eagles' win

MILWAUKEE - DePaul men's soccer could not find an equalizing goal against the Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday night, falling 1-0 in a BIG EAST battle in Milwaukee. DePaul created a handful of quality scoring chances but could not put the finishing touches on its opportunities while Marquette was able to capitalize on a second-half goal off of a corner kick.

DePaul (6-6-1, 2-3-1 BIG EAST) pushed the envelope offensively in the early going, creating chances on services from the outside. Within the first five minutes, the Blue Demons had already created a great scoring opportunity on a cross from Jack Richards to Marek Gonda. Gonda ended up being just out of reach of the ball in front of goal and the Golden Eagles (6-6-1, 3-3-1 BIG EAST) cleared the danger.

In the 16th minute, Gonda had another opportunity, this time on a delivery by Jake Fuderer. Gonda's attempted header was sent right into Marquette keeper Chandler Hallwood. The Blue Demons forced Hallwood to make five first-half saves but the Blue Demons were unable to convert an opportunity, and the game stayed knotted up.

Without much offense in the game's first 30 minutes, the Golden Eagles were granted a key scoring opportunity with less than a minute to go before halftime. The Blue Demons were whistled for a foul in the box and Marquette's Sam Thorton lined up a penalty kick chance. DePaul's Gandhi Cruz read the attempt, dove to his right, and made a huge save on Thorton's attempt. The save kept the score at 0-0 heading to halftime.

After the break, both sides traded offensive chances and looked to notch the first score of the match. In the 57th minute, the Golden Eagles lined up their third corner opportunity of the match. A service to the front of the goal was knocked home by Alex Mirsberger and gave the Golden Eagles a 1-0 advantage. After the Blue Demons had created most of the match's scoring chances, Marquette held a one-goal lead.

With the Blue Demons looking to respond, a corner kick ended up in a dangerous location in the 60th minute. Jacob Huth knocked a header off of the woodwork and Michael Anderson was unable to make solid contact on a loose ball in the box. Less than 15 minutes later, a DePaul free kick was placed into a threatening area in the box. However, the Golden Eagle defense dealt with the chance and cleared the danger.

Cruz made another key save to keep DePaul in striking distance in the 80th minute. Cruz stopped a point-blank chance inside the box after a service off of a free kick. The quick reflexes of the freshman keeper kept the score 1-0.

DePaul kept searching for the equalizer with time winding down. A chance created by Santiago Rodriguez on a slipped pass to Marek Gonda ended up just off target in the final ten minutes. DePaul's attempts in the final minutes came up empty and the Blue Demons were unable to force overtime, falling to the Golden Eagles, 1-0.

KEY STATS

DePaul totaled 12 shots to Marquette's 13 in the match. DePaul put seven on target while Marquette tallied eight.
Cruz had a busy night in goal for DePaul, making seven saves. The total was the highest for Cruz since he made eight in a win over Oakland on Sept. 18.
Gonda led the Blue Demons with four shots and two on target. Six different Blue Demons put attempts on target in the loss.
The 1-0 defeat is the second-straight for DePaul. The Blue Demons will search for their first BIG EAST road win next Wednesday versus Villanova.

UP NEXT
DePaul travels east to take on Villanova on Wednesday, Oct. 20. First kick is scheduled for noon CT and the match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports presented by SoFi.

For all of the latest on DePaul Men's Soccer, stay tuned to depaulbluedemons.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.