March 21, 2007

MILWAUKEE - Spring Schedule

The Marquette men's soccer team opens up spring play with the first of five days of competition on Saturday, March 24. The Golden Eagles host teams on four of their five days of spring exhibition play on the field turf training pitch at Valley Fields.

"The spring is a testing ground. After two and a half months of conditioning and individual training, we have five weeks with multiple games where our players can test themselves," head coach Louis Bennett said. "I really like this time of year. It's a time where you can see the results of the teaching. Right now, I believe we have five or six players who have really made strides forward. This is their chance to show that."

Marquette takes on Division II foe Wis.-Parkside at 10 a.m. on March 24 and hosts Wis.-Green Bay at 2 p.m. later that afternoon. Both contests are schedule for Valley Fields. UW-Parkside finished the 2006 season with a 13-4-4 record. UWGB was 14-6-0 last season.

The Golden Eagles make their lone road trip of the spring season on Saturday, March 31 when they visit Kentucky in Lexington. Kentucky was one of the most improved teams in Division I soccer last season, going 14-5-2, finishing the season second in Conference USA and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky loses five seniors from its 2006 team to its spring squad.

"This is the time for our guys to prove something," Bennett said. "If they think they have got it, go on the road, on a fast bermuda grass, against a gritty team and show that you have got it."

Wis.-Milwaukee is on tap on Sunday, April 15 at the Valley Fields stadium at 6 p.m. The game is the second Bob Summy Memorial Match. Summy was a friend of head coach Louis Bennett and associate head coach Stan Anderson who passed away in the fall of 2005. Marquette won the 2006 Summy Memorial Match, 2-1, at Engelmann Field last season.

On Friday, April 20, Marquette hosts UW-Parkside for the second time in the spring at 6 p.m. at Valley Fields. Parkside then plays the Milwaukee Bavarians club team at 7 p.m. Marquette and the Bavarians complete the day with a match at 8 p.m.

The spring season concludes on Sunday, April 29 with a six-team mini-tournament at Valley Fields. Wis.-Oshkosh, Cardinal Stritch, Wis.-Whitewater, Carthage, Concordia (Wis.) and Wisconsin Lutheran are the competing teams in the tournament.

Games in the tournament consist of two halves of 20 minutes in length. The tournament starts at 8:30 a.m. with Cardinal Stritch taking on Concordia. Wisconsin Lutheran plays Carthage at 8:30 a.m. UW-Whitewater plays UW-Oshkosh at 9:30 a.m.

The three winning teams move into another round robin bracket with Marquette. MU will play its three games at 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

"There is a need to see multiple people in different positions. We don't have huge numbers, so we have to reduce the time they are playing but give them more playing options with breaks in between," Bennett said. "The limitations are in the spring that you can only play on five days, so you have to maximize your time."

In all, Bennett said the spring is an extremely valuable time for individual development, rather than focusing on the results, as the team prepares for next season.

"It's all about who plays well and improves and who can lock in to what we are trying to do and become BIG EAST type players," he said. "The expectation of the spring is that we will be better at what we are trying to do. Last year, we needed the results as something to grab on to. This time, if we go undefeated, go .500, or do less than that, it doesn't matter. Having improvement at each position is critical."