After winning the Big East Red division and earning a bye into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, UofL's 12th ranked men's soccer team fell at home Saturday night to 10th ranked Marquette 2-1. The loss wasn't for a lack of opportunities as UofL (12-5-2) pressed the tempo with numerous deep runs and creative passing to finish the game with an 11-6 advantage in shots on goal. Marquette (16-2-1) Goalie Charlie Lyon played outstanding and made several acrobatic saves to limit the Cards.
Marquette also relied heavily on defender Axel Sjoberg, whose 6'7 frame had an impact on both ends of the field. He started the scoring midway through the first half with a brilliant header off a Golden Eagle free kick, and possibly contributed to the second goal by drawing extra defensive attention on another free kick, which ultimately landed cleanly in the box and found the back of the net right before halftime. He was also effective in limiting the Card's aerial attack throughout the game.
The Cards came out firing in the second as early on Paolo DelPiccolo and Andrew Farrell failed to convert on excellent chances, although the latter's shot looked to have crossed the goal line before Lyon scooped it up. Protests from the UofL players and bench fell on deaf ears though and no goal was awarded. The Cards pressed on with deep runs by Greg Cochrane, Dylan Mares, and Will Vitalis, before Zach Foxhoven finally broke through by scoring off a crossing pass from Vitalis in the 86th minute. Unfortunately it wasn't enough as the Golden Eagles managed to hold on for the win and advance to the Semi-Finals next week in New Jersey. The Cards are left to await their NCAA tournament fate, which will be announced on November 12th.
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Photo: stock.xchang/Colin Bamford
