MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Sophomore Nick Markanich (Boubonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) opened the scoring in the 10th minute but Marquette responded with three goals in nine minutes as the Golden Eagles topped the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team, 3-1, on Friday night (Sept. 13) at Valley Fields.

"This was a good Marquette team," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "I'm not sure if we showed them too much respect but we looked really disjointed today. This was a setback, although we have lost some games, this was the first game where I thought our opponent was better than us. It was a setback but we get the chance to rectify things in two days, so hopefully the guys set their mind's to doing that."

Marquette (2-1-1) had the first chance of the contest in the second minute as Josh Coan's header was palmed away by senior goalkeeper Konrad Dziedzic (Schiller Park, Ill./West Virginia) to keep the match scoreless in the opening moments.

NIU (0-4-1) struck first through Markanich in the 10th minute. Junior Alex Welch (Carmarthen, Wales/King's College Madrid) turned on a Golden Eagle defender, giving him space to feed Markanich just outside the box. Markanich took a touch inside the area and smashed a shot past Marquette goalkeeper Jackson Weyman into the upper corner to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.

Marquette equalized in the 23rd minute directly from a free kick by Coan. The Golden Eagles earned a free kick 25 yards from goal and Coan stepped up and bent the free kick around the wall and past Dziedzic to even the match at 1-1.

Christian Marquez had a chance for Marquette in the 28th minute from just inside the box but his shot was beaten away by Dziedzic.

Marquette went in front in the 31st minute as Connor Alba gave the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead. Patrick Seagrist cut the ball back from near the end line to Alba who was all alone near the penalty spot and slipped a shot under Dziedzic to put the Golden Eagles in front.

Just a minute later Marquette added a third as Coan scored directly from a free kick. Coan's free kick from a wide position went through traffic inside the six untouched and inside the back post to give the Golden Eagles a 3-1 lead in the 32nd minute.

The frantic pace continued as, just three minutes later, senior Jan Maertins (Rheinfelden, Germany/Marquette) flashed a header off the bar from a corner kick. The follow up chance from freshman Luis Hernandez (Mesquite, Texas/Lone Star) was saved by Weyman as Marquette took its 3-1 lead into the interval.

Three minutes into the second half, Coan forced NIU redshirt freshman goalkeeper Martin Sanchez (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy), who had come on at halftime, into a save at full stretch as he deflected it out for a corner; NIU cleared away the ensuing set piece.

Just before the hour mark, senior Christian Molina (Katy, Texas/Mayde Creek) dribbled his way into space just outside the top of the box and sent a shot high over the top of the Marquette goal.

In the 69th minute, NIU had another chance as Welch's effort was tipped over the crossbar by Weyman. Sanchez made another save in the 80th minute, fighting off a shot from Coan before it was scrambled away by the Huskie backline.

Sophomore Pierce Ugarte's (Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn) header off a free kick went wide in the 84th minute as NIU continued to press but Marquette was able to see out the final few minutes to claim the 3-1 victory.

Weyman made four saves in the contest for Marquette; Dziedzic made three stops in the first half for NIU while Sanchez came on to make four saves in the second 45 minutes.

NIU will return home on Sunday, September 15, as the Huskies host Bradley at 2 p.m. on Youth Soccer Club Day at the NIU Soccer Complex.