I Hope You Like Goals: Marquette 5, St. Thomas 0

The Golden Eagles uncorked an offensive explosion on Thursday evening in Milwaukee led by a brace from Tess O’Connell.

As I wrote in the preview for Thursday night’s Marquette women’s soccer contest against St. Thomas, the Golden Eagles were in need of a little bit of a boost heading into the Big East opener on Sunday against Butler. The first run of matches haven’t exactly gone in Marquette’s favor, perhaps because of the strength of schedule, but in any case, a little pick-me-up would go a long way.

And they definitely got that, starting with Tess O’Connell rising up for a header off a Kiara Clarke corner kick in the 11th minute of the match.

That goal ended up being the only one of the first half, but things were definitely tilted in Marquette’s direction right from the get go. After 45 minutes, shots were 7-1 for the Golden Eagles, and the pressure over and over was notable right away as the MU players took a couple of spills in the box without a whistle sounding.

And then the second half started, and it seems that Tess O’Connell had the keys to the floodgates. Before a minute spun off the clock after intermission, O’Connell had collected a bouncing ball to rifle it high into the net for a 2-0 lead.

And then, in the 49th minute, Emily Fix got her head on another of Kiara Clarke’s corner kicks, this time one that missed everyone elevating to try to put a head on it.

And then, in the 72nd minute, St. Thomas knocked a Kiara Clarke corner out over the end line, and that set up Haley Christianson from the other end. The corner attempt got turned away, but Carina Murphy had her eyes on everything, and zipped around behind it to launch it into the net for her first career goal.

It looked like 4-0 is where things were going to come to rest as Marquette ultimately tripled up St. Thomas in shots, 18-6. NOPE, Josie Bieda cashed in from 12 yards out in the 85th minute to make it a 5-0 final and move the Golden Eagles to 3-5-2 on the year…… but 2-0-1 on this homestand.

Chloe Olson and Elise Krone both played 45 minutes in net to combine for the shutout. Krone ended up having to do the most work, tallying all four saves in the match……. and she also benefited from a VAR review that confirmed that she stopped a bouncing ball before it crossed the line.

How about some highlights, including Bieda’s goal, courtesy of FloSports and GoMarquette.com?

Up Next: Big East play! Marquette gets their league contests started on Sunday when they visit Butler for a Noon Central time start. The Bulldogs are 5-2-1 heading into conference play, and are coming off a 2-0 road win against Illinois State last Sunday.