Seton Hall University
Marquette
Hall Edged at No. 18 Marquette, 2-1
11/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 3, 2013
MILWAUKEE, WIS. - The Seton Hall University men's soccer team dropped a BIG EAST match at No. 18 Marquette University, 2-1, on Saturday night at Valley Fields.
Despite the loss the Pirates remain very much in the picture for the sixth and final spot in the 2013 BIG EAST Tournament, although now their fate is not entirely in their hands. The top six teams in the conference qualify for the postseason and Seton Hall is locked in a three-way tie with Villanova and Butler, both of whom fell in their matchups earlier in the day.
There is just one regular season game remaining for all three squads, with the Pirates poised to host St. John's on Senior Day next Friday, Nov. 8, at 3 p.m., while Villanova will head to Georgetown and Butler will host Xavier, currently ranked second and third in the conference standings respectively. Butler holds the tie breaker over Seton Hall or in the event of a three-way tie, meaning the Pirates will need at least a tie against the Red Storm next week.
The Golden Eagles (10-4-2, 6-1-1) got on the scoreboard early Saturday night as Paul Dillon netted his first goal of the season in the 8th minute. The scoring play saw Adam Lysak serve a ball out from near the Seton Hall end line to Dillon in the field of play more than 25-yards out from net. Dillon handled the pass and volleyed a shot past a leaping Julian Spindler (Weiersbach, Germany) into the upper 90.
Despite facing a deficit after the first half, Seton Hall (7-8-2, 3-5-0) led 9-5 in shot attempts and directed two shots on net. Only a few moments into the second half the Pirates finally capitalized on a chance, as senior Max Garcia (Jersey City, N.J.) buried a shot in the 47th minute.
Marquette had a free kick opportunity after a Seton Hall foul just outside of the MU box on the left side, but instead of having goalkeeper Charlie Lyon boot it down the field, the Golden Eagles elected instead to possess deep in their own zone. A poor centering pass from the left was intercepted by Garcia and he turned to hammer a shot past Lyon at the near post for his fifth goal of the season.
Garcia's goal seemed to awaken the Marquette offense as the 18th-ranked Golden Eagles possessed for much of the remained of the second half, with C. Nortey tallying the game-winner in the 80th minute.
The scoring play started with a throw in to the left of the net, which the Pirates were unable to clear resulting in a free ball near the top left quadrant of the area. Nortey managed to score on a line drive shot as he was falling to the ground, never giving Spindler or the Pirate defense any chance to make a play on the ball; the score was his team-leading 8th of the season.
Marquette outshot Seton Hall 8-1 in the second half and the Golden Eagles attempted four corner kicks. Spindler made three stops for the Pirates, two in the first half, and the Pirate defense weathered Marquette's steady offensive pressure until Nortey's acrobatic goal late in the game.
Seton Hall did put together a couple quick runs to the other end of the field but nothing generated a quality scoring opportunity. Garcia attempted four of Seton Hall's 10 shots and redshirt junior Victor Manosalvas (Clifton, N.J.) and junior Kai Greene (South Orange, N.J.) both had a shot on net in the first period.
