Marquette’s season ended in the most brutal way possible: a sudden death penalty kick shootout loss to Xavier in the Big East semifinal. After battling to a 4-4 tie in the mandatory rounds, the Golden Eagles couldn’t hold on, and their title game hopes vanished in a single kick.
The Grinding Path to Overtime
Remember that regular season meeting? Marquette fell behind Xavier 2-0 and then got completely shut down in the second half. So, heading into Wednesday’s semifinal, the game plan felt pretty clear: try to drag it to a scoreless draw, push through two overtime sessions, and pray in penalty kicks. And honestly? They almost pulled it off. Marquette did a heck of a job suffocating the game in the first half, outshooting Xavier 3-1 with neither team even registering a shot on goal. The second half, though, started to slip. The Musketeers turned it up, outshooting the Golden Eagles 12-5 after the break. Yet, the game was still scoreless past the 75-minute mark.
Then, the dam broke. In the 76th minute, Taylor Thomas pulled in a Marquette corner kick and fired off a hell of an outlet pass to Regan Dancer. Her first touch? Man, that has to be one of the best of her career, right? Mia Hurd tried to challenge, but Dancer just beat her, and the ball went past Hurd into the net. Just like that, things looked bleak for Marquette. But they kept generating corner kicks, and in the 80th minute, Kaylie Sheehan paid it off. Cleaning up the mess in a scramble after one of MU’s six corners, she put it away. When the defense can’t clear, you have to make them pay, and Sheehan did. Just like that, overtime was forced. The two 10-minute extra sessions were a bit of a slow burn, especially that back end of the second one. It felt like no one wanted to take a chance with penalty kicks looming, and that’s exactly where we ended up.
Heartbreak from the Spot
When the shootout began, Marquette had us all believing. Mia Hurd leapt and stopped Brooklynn Miltenberger’s shot to start the fourth round, and suddenly, the momentum was all Marquette’s. Emily Fix scored for the Golden Eagles, pushing them to a 4-3 lead. You could practically taste Saturday’s title game, right? But then, Taylor Thomas came up big for Xavier, stopping Haley Christianson after XU had converted their fourth shot. The mandatory rounds ended 4-4, and we were into sudden victory. Breanna Dardano converted for Xavier on their turn in the sixth round. Then it was Clare Shea’s turn for Marquette. Xavier’s goalie made the shootout-winning save. No shade to Shea, but after 110 minutes of soccer, Marquette had to find a way not to even let it get to her. Ultimately, they just couldn’t seal it.
The Season’s Abrupt End
And just like that, it’s over. Marquette finished the season with a record of 7-3-10. Starting the day at #83 in the RPI with five Quadrant 4 draws and three more in Quadrant 3, it’s not going to impress anyone enough to get an NCAA tournament at-large berth. That’s a bummer, but the team will now prepare for the spring exhibition season. What a ride it was, though, huh?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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