Oct. 10, 2006

MILWAUKEE -

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

The Marquette men's soccer team plays Wisconsin on Wednesday, October 11 at Valley Fields at 7 p.m. in the 46th meeting between the two programs. The contest with Wisconsin marks the first of a three-game homestand for the Golden Eagles. The three home games are the final three of the season at Valley Fields for Marquette.

Playing a familiar opponent adds a little extra something to the contest, according to head coach Louis Bennett.

"It adds a little extra spice to the game," Bennett said. "Especially for the local guys and the older guys who are familiar with Wisconsin, it means a little more, but that only lasts about the first 15 minutes. After that, it settles down into another opponent."

The Golden Eagles are looking to bounce back from a five-match scoring drought. Marquette has seven goals on the year, with the last coming in a 3-1 loss at Cincinnati on September 15. Marquette has had success scoring against Wisconsin, posting nine goals in the last five meetings.

"We had some pretty intense training yesterday working on getting forward and understanding our goal scoring opportunities," Bennett said. "We've been struggling with that, so we are really focusing on ourselves and what we can get done offensively."

Wisconsin ventured into the national rankings last week, but a 2-0 loss to Ohio State to conclude the week sent the Badgers out of the polls. Wisconsin owns a three-game win streak against Marquette.

The Badgers had won three in a row and hadn't lost in six prior to the loss at Ohio State. Wisconsin's scoring is balanced, with four players -- Victor Diaz, Zack Lambo, Eric Conklin and Brian Bultman -- each scoring three goals. Wisconsin owns a 20-9 scoring advantage this season. Jake Settle has a 0.67 goals against average with 39 saves on the year.

"Wisconsin is now in a place where they are experiencing some success," Bennett said. "They are certainly a team not to be taken lightly. We will make adjustments for them, but we will certainly try to accomplish what we want with our game plan."

Added to the situation of playing a common opponent, the Golden Eagles are at home for the first time since September 23. MU has played just once at home in since September 11. Bennett stresses that playing at home should be an advantage for the Golden Eagles.

"Even when we've played poorly at home, we haven't been taken advantage of as we have been on the road," he said. "Teams come in and are often defense oriented and don't want to give up a goal. We want to take advantage of our home field. As a staff, we're really beginning to like the Valley and be familiar with it as well."