| September 2, 2012
THIRD STRAIGHT CLEAN SHEET
Marquette blanks Drake
DES MOINES, Iowa - Marquette University scored twice in the second half and hung on for its third consecutive shutout to defeat Drake 2-0 on a steamy Sunday afternoon at Cownie Soccer Complex.
Marquette (4-0-0) senior striker Andy Huftalin opened the scoring in the 48th minute. Junior midfielder Bryan Ciesiulka then capitalized on a penalty kick at the 71-minute mark to provide the Golden Eagles with their first two-goal cushion of the season.
MU goalkeeper Charlie Lyon, a redshirt sophomore, came up with four saves en route to his third-straight shutout in just his fifth career start between the posts for Marquette. MU has now held its opponents scoreless for the last 290 minutes going back to the season-opener on Aug. 24.
Huftalin’s first goal of the season and fourth of his career came after he muscled his defender to the ball to get possession inside the six-yard box where he was able to send a shot past a diving Drake goalkeeper. Redshirt freshman DJ Schillinger and redshirt junior Adam Lysak both got touches on the ball, and it was Lysak who ultimately flicked it ahead to Huftalin.
It was Schillinger’s debut as a Golden Eagle after he came onto the pitch late in the first half for an injured Eric Pothast, who ended up receiving stitches at the intermission in order to help seal up a cut to the face. Pothast eventually came back into the game in the second half.
Marquette’s second goal came after left wing Sebastian Jansson got to the touchline, but was tackled in the box, prompting a foul call and the MU penalty kick that was calmly deposited inside the left post by Ciesiulka. Ciesiulka also scored on a penalty kick in the season-opening match against Milwaukee.
But the Bulldogs refused to go away easily despite the high temperature on the field and a two-goal deficit. Drake finished with six shots on goal, compared to four shots on frame by the Golden Eagles, while the two sides ended up with 13 shots apiece, including seven shots each in the first half.
In the 17th minute, Lyon disrupted what would have been a clean one-on-one opportunity for Drake, but the MU keeper left his line to smother the chance at the top of the box. Later in the half, the Bulldogs had a second-phase ball headed over the post by 6-foot-7 central defender Axel Sjoberg after Lyon was taken out of the play, which would have given Drake the lead going into halftime.
MU hosts Western Illinois at Valley Fields on Saturday, Sept. 8.
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