Marquette falls to 4-3 on the season after Colorado’s (2-4) defensive masterclass holds the Golden Eagles to six goals. The Buffalos won 15-6.
Game of runs
The game began with a sophomore midfielder Lauren Grady draw control. Subsequently, Grady assisted senior midfielder Hannah Bodner for the game’s first goal, 1:14 seconds into the contest. The Golden Eagles followed the hot start up with a defensive stop, a clear and a senior attacker Meg Bireley free position goal to give Marquette a 2-0 lead with 12:01 left in the first period.
The remainder of the first period was all Buffalos. Graduate attacker Madeline Pisani scored her 11th goal of the season, followed by a graduate attacker Kendall Havill goal and a junior midfielder Lily Assini goal with 5:10 left in the first frame. Neither team could put the ball in the back of the net for the rest of the quarter.
The second quarter started with a Colorado flurry. The Buffalos started with a goal and tacked two more on the board in the next two minutes. After another five-minute scoreless stretch, Assini scored her second goal of the game on a free position shot. After no goals for five minutes, sophomore attacker Teagan Ryan scored her ninth goal of the season to cap Colorado’s 8-0 scoring run that lasted 25 minutes.
Marquette stopped the bleeding with a Bireley goal with 1:56 left to play in the first half.
Colorado won back-to-back draw controls after the Bireley goal and turned those opportunities into consecutive goals to give the Buffalos a 10-3 lead going into the intermission.
The third quarter began with another 14-minute scoreless drought for the Golden Eagles, where Colorado scored two goals to make the lead 12-3. This time Colorado went on a 4-0 stretch.
Sophomore attacker CJ Meehan scored her first goal of the season with 42 seconds left in the third to pull the Golden Eagles within eight.
Colorado opened the fourth with another 4-0 scoring run in the first 10 minutes of the quarter.
Marquette finished the game just like it had started, with two straight goals in the last three minutes by Bireley and first-year attacker/midfielder McKenna Farrell to limit the damage and make the final score 15-6.
Defensive masterclass
Colorado held Marquette to its second-lowest goal total of the year. The Buffalos had more possessions than the Golden Eagles, as they won 15 draw controls to Marquette’s nine.
On MU’s possessions, Colorado was disruptive defensively with their zone, forcing 17 turnovers. The Golden Eagles got 12 shots on goal, but Colorado’s goalie, Elena Oh, saved 50 percent of Marquette’s shots.
Bright spots
As usual, Bireley was a bright spot; she scored three goals on six shots and grabbed a draw control. Bodner also scored a goal and won four draw controls. Meehan and Farrell also contributed a goal each.
Senior goalkeeper Bryanna Nixon was busy in the cage. Nixon faced 29 shots on goal and saved an impressive 14 shots to limit Colorado’s scoring output.
The Buffalo’s record is not an indication of how good they are. All of Colorado’s games have been against ranked opponents until the Golden Eagles came to town.
Up Next
Marquette returns home to Valley Fields to try to snap its two-game losing streak on Sunday at 11 a.m. CST. The Golden Eagles will take on Detroit Mercy (3-3) on FloCollege.
This story was written by Max Mullin. He can be reached at maxwell.mullin@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MullinMax.