Marquette men’s soccer went into Sunday’s match against North Florida looking to avoid a repeat of its season-opening 0-0 draw against Bradley.
Enter Mateo Stoka.
With his first two career goals in the final six minutes, the transfer senior midfielder both erased a one-goal deficit and gave the Golden Eagles (1-0-1) the lead in the final minute of a match that ended with a 2-1 victory over the Ospreys (1-1-0).
“I’m just really proud of them,” Marquette head coach David Korn said. “They’ve been a fun group to coach, and I’m just so excited to see them keep growing.”
Coming off a 1-0 win at Wisconsin Thursday night, North Florida looked like it would leave the Badger State undefeated when, in the 84th minute, Jackson Reinhardt put his team ahead — just like he did in Madison.
Stoka had other plans.
While most spectators probably believed the Golden Eagles would be going into the week winless, he would change many minds the very next minute by tucking a penalty safely into the bottom right corner of the net.
But the pressure from Stoka didn’t stop there; six minutes later, in the last moments, drew a free-kick from 20 yards out. With the final whistle seconds away, Stoka stood over the ball, ran up, and curled an unsavable shot into the top-right corner.
Mateo called game
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— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) August 24, 2025
“I could take that free kick 20 more times, I don’t think I’m putting it anywhere near where I did,” Stoka said. “I just tried to whip it far post as hard as I could and hoped for the best and that ended up working out.”
Luckily for Marquette, he didn’t need to take it again. Once was enough.
His two goals meant the Golden Eagles’ constant pressing — they had 20 shots to the Ospreys’ five — weren’t for nothing, after being squeezed out by a three centerback defensive block for most of the game.
“We haven’t seen [a team playing 3-4-3] through pre-season,” Korn said. “And so they really had to learn how we were going to press, how we were going to build, and they did a great job applying those things.”
As time soon expired, every fan and player let out a massive cheer paired with a sigh of relief, as the Golden Eagles remained unbeaten through two games and got their first win on the board after a disappointing opener.
Up next
Marquette will host Drake Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.