At a glance, you'd think that Marquette men's soccer started their season off okay at worst. It's hard to say any two game set that avoids putting a number in the loss column is a bad thing, and the Golden Eagles are 1-0-1 after two matches.
However, because Marquette got outshot 12-5 by Oakland in the opener, including 9-2 after halftime, the Golden Eagles are carrying a heavy shot deficit into the second week of the season. 23 against, just 14 for.
That's bad enough at face value, obviously, but it's a bigger problem that you might realize right away. Last year, Marquette outshot Big East opponents 118-77 overall. That's 14.8 to 9.6 on average. That's good, of course, but MU got outscored 11-5 in those eight matches, and four of those five goals came in Marquette's lone win of Big East play last season.
As we talked about when the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll came out, non-conference play is not going to challenge Marquette the same way that Big East play will. None of MU's non-con opponents were earning preseason votes — including the Oakland and Saint Mary's teams that just outshot the Golden Eagles — but all three Big East squads that were in the preseason top 25 are on the league schedule for Marquette.
So, you can see the problem with MU getting pushed a little bit too hard by their non-conference opponents. Yes, there's a lot of newcomers on this roster, so easing into the season makes sense as the team comes together. Just three of those newcomers started against SMC on Sunday, and just three more played more than a handful of minutes. For the most part, Marquette's lineup is guys who are familiar with how head coach David Korn wants things to go… and while the record is fine, the pathway there — especially giving up a lead twice against Oakland to settle for a draw — has been rocky at best.
#season
However, because Marquette got outshot 12-5 by Oakland in the opener, including 9-2 after halftime, the Golden Eagles are carrying a heavy shot deficit into the second week of the season. 23 against, just 14 for.
That's bad enough at face value, obviously, but it's a bigger problem that you might realize right away. Last year, Marquette outshot Big East opponents 118-77 overall. That's 14.8 to 9.6 on average. That's good, of course, but MU got outscored 11-5 in those eight matches, and four of those five goals came in Marquette's lone win of Big East play last season.
As we talked about when the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll came out, non-conference play is not going to challenge Marquette the same way that Big East play will. None of MU's non-con opponents were earning preseason votes — including the Oakland and Saint Mary's teams that just outshot the Golden Eagles — but all three Big East squads that were in the preseason top 25 are on the league schedule for Marquette.
So, you can see the problem with MU getting pushed a little bit too hard by their non-conference opponents. Yes, there's a lot of newcomers on this roster, so easing into the season makes sense as the team comes together. Just three of those newcomers started against SMC on Sunday, and just three more played more than a handful of minutes. For the most part, Marquette's lineup is guys who are familiar with how head coach David Korn wants things to go… and while the record is fine, the pathway there — especially giving up a lead twice against Oakland to settle for a draw — has been rocky at best.
#season
21 days ago
