Mitchell Dryden wasn’t vying for an equalizer like he was three days prior against Drake: this time he was igniting the fire.
Sophmore midfielder Grant Locker sent the ball up to the senior forward in the seventh minute, who launched it off his right foot into the lower right corner — nothing but net.
This was just the beginning of the momentum that would empower Marquette men’s soccer (2-0-2) to barrel past Chicago State (0-4-0) 4-0 for its second victory on home turf.
“Pleased to get a win,” Marquette head coach David Korn said. “We thought it was going to be important to score early, doesn’t mean that always happens, so to get an early goal was great.”
In the 30th minute, junior midfielder Nico Pendleton subbed on. A minute later, he scored his first goal of the season off a rocket from the top of the box.
Pendleton found himself as a playmaker yet again, just 10 minutes later, when first-year defender Joey Buchanan headed Pendleton’s corner into the back of the net for his first-career goal.
42′ | Joey Buchanan’s first career goal! #WeAreMarquette | #MarquetteSoccer pic.twitter.com/tmoNTuXlyc
— Marquette Soccer (@marquettesoccer) August 31, 2025
“Coach always stresses the importance of putting it in dangerous areas in the box, so I did that and left the rest up to the teammates,” Pendleton said. “Joey works hard so he deserves it more than anyone else.”
The colossal first half performance may make the more subdued play in the second 45 seem lulling, but the Golden Eagles stayed composed until the clock showed 90 minutes.
“In the first half, some of their best chances came from our mistakes, and they pressed with great intensity,” Korn said. “We talked about how we could manage that coming out of halftime.”
The cherry on top was sophomore forward Hudson Torrez’s goal in the 76th minute, which made him the third player to record a first goal of the season in the match.
Korn noted the difficulty of choosing which player to fill each position, but today demonstrated that’s not always a bad thing.
“A lot of guys came in and had different debuts, played more minutes for us,” Korn said. “It’s been a good competition and really fun to see the guys get rewarded with some goals and a clean sheet.”
Up next
The yearly in-state rivalry matchup between Marquette and Wisconsin comes to Valley Fields Saturday at 7 p.m. CST. The Golden Eagles are seeking redemption after last year’s 2-1 defeat.
This recap was written by Sofie Hanrahan. She can be reached @sofia.hanrahan@marquette.edu or on X @SofieHanrahanMU.