MILWAUKEE - The Green Bay women's soccer team (1-4-0)
wrapped up its five-game road trip Thursday night with a 3-0 loss to Marquette (4-2-0)
in front of 325 fans at Valley Fields. The Phoenix hung around with its in-state
rival for the majority of the game, but the Golden Eagles tallied a pair of
goals late to seal the win.
Green Bay was short-handed in the match, playing without
three of its top players - junior Chelsea Lyons (Coon Rapids, Minn.), sophomore Jess Ruch (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and freshman Nicole Dooher (New Hope, Minn.) - who were
each sidelined due to concussions.
"I'm proud of the way our team competed tonight,
especially with three of our regular starters out," Phoenix coach Trevor Warren
said. "We were up against a very strong team. There's not a team in our
conference that's as good as Marquette, so we can't get down on ourselves."
The Phoenix couldn't get anything going on the offensive
end, as it was outshot 26-1 by the Golden Eagles.
Despite the large disadvantage in the shot column, Green
Bay was down just 1-0 until late in the second period after trailing by the
same margin at halftime. It wasn't until the 77th minute when Marquette knocked
in a pair of goals just 26 seconds apart to push the lead to 3-0.
The Golden Eagles first got on the board in the 42nd
minute off a 35-yarder by junior Stephanie Vasos that found the far corner of
the net. Scoring the back-to-back goals for Marquette were senior Brittany
Bares and sophomore Danielle Martens. Each goal marked the first of the season
for all three players.
Warren had the chance to see a number of his reserves in
action throughout the match, including freshman goalkeeper Jennifer Sturchio
(Rochester, Minn.), who saw her first collegiate minutes between the posts.
Sturchio made three saves and allowed two goals in her debut, while starter
Maddie Drusch (Appleton, Wis.) stopped five and gave up one goal.
The Phoenix is next in action Sunday afternoon when it
returns to Santaga Stadium for its 2009 home opener.
--www.GreenBayPhoenix.com--
