Marquette women’s soccer (6-1-6, 2-0-2 Big East) extended its six-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 win over I-94 rivals DePaul (3-4-5, 0-2-2 Big East).
First-year goalkeeper Mia Hurd earned her sixth shutout of the year, helping the Golden Eagles cruise to their first conference victory on the road.
Marquette’s offense came out firing with three shots in the opening 13 minutes before junior defender Lily Coats struck gold in the 16th for her second goal of the season since scoring in the opener against St. Thomas on Aug. 12.
Murray recorded her first assist of the season back from her stint representing the Philippines.
DePaul tested Hurd 20 minutes in when an identical cross to Murray’s assist rolled across the box. This time, sophomore defender Clare Shea made a heroic diving block to prevent the wide-open would-be equalizer.
The game was once again placed in Hurd’s gloves when a dangerous, outside-the-box shot from a DePaul attacker was deflected by Hurd, who did just enough to send the ball careening off the crossbar.
Marquette senior forward Emily Fix looked dangerous all game as she continuously carried the ball through the midfield and broke DePaul’s lines, recording the team’s high six shots on the day.
The blue and gold side outshot DePaul 15-8.
Just minutes into the second half, Fix carefully wove the ball through several probing DePaul defenders before rifling a high-powered shot that required a diving effort from DePaul keeper Mason Hillery to keep the Blue Demons within one.
Marquette’s last major chance came when Fix once again applied the pressure.
On a Marquette corner, Fix headed the ball into a chaotic goal area. A flying goal-line clearance from a DePaul defender ended the threat, but DePaul failed to capitalize on the change of momentum as the final whistle blew just minutes later.
The 1-0 win was Marquette’s seventh win of its last eight against DePaul.
After two consecutive draws with Butler and Georgetown, and a 2-1 win vs. Creighton on Oct. 7, the Golden Eagles continued their undefeated run against Big East opposition.
Marquette continues its Big East schedule with a trip to New York to face St. John’s (3-5-4, 0-1-3 Big East) on Oct. 17.
This story was written by Conor McPherson. He can be reached at [email protected]