Entering Valley Fields Thursday night, it was hard not to wonder if the scene had been curated out of a soccer fan’s dream.
Not a cloud in sight, stands jam-packed with eager fans, hot dogs grilling and Marquette men’s soccer ready to begin its 2025 campaign against Bradley.
The dream started to fade, at least for Marquette fans, when graduate midfielder Justin Milovanov was given a red card for a questionable slide tackle in the 11th minute. Down to 10 men for the final 79, the Golden Eagles (0-0-1) refused to let this game turn into a total nightmare as it fought for a draw vs. the Braves (0-0-1) in the season opener.
“To see the group come together and celebrate moments in a match, those things were positive,” Marquette head coach David Korn said. “I wish it hadn’t come from being down a man, but it was awesome to see the fight they had.”
Unparted Red Sea
Bradley threatened Marquette’s backline with two shots in the first 10 minutes of play. The Braves continued to keep the goal under fire throughout the first 45, totaling six shots.
On the other half of the pitch, it was a stark difference. Only one shot was taken by the Golden Eagles, despite having four corners.
The second half improved on opportunities, including junior midfielder Gabriel Miranda’s concurrent shots in the 73rd minute, but still with no fruition.
The Golden Eagles had eight total corner kicks in the 90, all to no avail, and were outshot 11-6 on the night.
The Group That Keeps on Giving
Despite only having 10 players on the field for almost all of the match, Marquette did not cease to showcase a deep roster of talent.
“Truthfully the last few nights trying to figure out who the line is going to be, it’s difficult,” Korn said. “We have multiple players who can play in goal, multiple players that could have played in the backline, midfield.”
Two first-years started the match: defender Andreas Fotland and forward Bryce Richards. Many transfers also saw playing time including senior midfielder Mateo Stoka and graduate forward Bence Molnar.
Heavy substitutions — often 3-5 at a time — were made throughout the match to keep momentum barreling.
“It’s a good thing that we have competition, and tonight it showed the quality that we had in terms of depth because we physically needed that,” Korn said.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles end their two-game opening weekend Sunday against North Florida. First kick is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST.
This article was written by Sofie Hanrahan. She can be reached at sofia.hanrahan@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @SofieHanrahanMU.