Marquette men’s soccer (6-5-2, 0-5 Big East) made the most of their senior night, getting back in the win column with a 2-0 victory over Division III side Edgewood (11-1-2, 9-0).
The Golden Eagles were on a two-game losing streak going into their bout with the visiting Eagles, and needed to get back on the right track with only three regular season matches left. But before they got to work, Marquette’s seniors were honored with their parents at their sides and jersey-laden frames in-hand.
“We wanted to make them smile,” said Golden Eagles head coach David Korn. “We wanted a good result at the end of the night, and we wanted [the seniors] to be proud of the performance.”
Amidst the celebrations, a downpour of rain fell upon Valley, leaving the ceremony shinier and the fields slippery.
As time went on in the early stages of the match, it became increasingly clear that Marquette would be making it a point to control possession. And it took only 10 minutes for it to reap the benefits, as Nico Pendleton found inside the box Mads Konrad Horgoien, who put the Golden Eagles ahead 1-0 with his fifth goal of the season.
Marquette did well to maintain control over the game during the first half as goalkeeper Marten Brink faced only one shot on goal, while the blue & gold put four on the Edgewood frame.
In the second half, Edgewood goalkeeper Maverick Van Laanen stopped several close-up and well-placed strikes from the Golden Eagles, who tested him with 15 shots on target in the final 45 minutes.
Despite Van Laanen’s best efforts, Marquette was able to double the scoring in the 67th minute when Antonio Costabile scored his first goal of the season, working his way into the box and onto his strong foot before placing a shot into the bottom-right corner of the net.
“The field made it a little bit harder at times,” said Korn, “but I thought the guys used the width and had a lot of space to attack on the outside to get a goal from Tony.”
As the final whistle blew and Marquette players and staff exited the field, bystanders could hear a raucus of cheers coming from the Golden Eagles locker room.
“It’s good to create those moments to celebrate,” said senior captain Justin Milovanov. “When you go back into locker room, when you’re dancing, you’re singing with your teammates, that’s why we play this game.”
The Golden Eagles look for their first Big East win of the season Saturday at 7 p.m. CST when they host the DePaul Blue Demons.
This article was written by Eamon Bevan. He can be reached at eamon.bevan@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @EamonBevanMU.