Marquette Golden Eagles
Overall Rank: #11
#2 Big East
Marquette Team Page
Marquette finished the 2013 campaign tied atop the Big East with Georgetown with a 6-2-1 record. The Golden Eagles were not the most dominating team around, outscoring Big East opponents by just 10 to 6, but there were not many teams in the nation who could squeak out 1-0 wins better than Marquette. This is still a program on the rise under Coach Louis Bennett and returning eight starters is a good way to keep that momentum going.
2013 Record: 13-6-2, 6-2-1
2013 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Louis Bennett
Returning Leaders:
Goals: C. Nortey, Junior, F, 10
Assists: Louis Bennett II, Sophomore, M, 5; Coco Navarro, Sophomore, F, 5
Shots: Louis Bennett II, Sophomore, M, 50
Saves: Charlie Lyon, Senior, GK, 81
Other Key Returnees: M Brady Wahl, D Axel Sjoberg, D John Pothast, D Adam Hermsen
Key Losses: F Kelmend Islami, F Adam Lysak, M Bryan Ciesiulka, D Paul Dillon, D Eric Pothast
Strengths:
The Marquette defense allowed just 20 goals in 21 games and many of the key pieces are back to make this one of the tougher teams to score against in the Big East. It all starts in goal with Charlie Lyon. He spent every minute in goal for the Golden Eagles and posted ten shutouts and a .802 save percentage. Axel Sjoberg is a beast in the back. The 6-7 junior has started the last 42 games for Marquette and will anchor the back line. John Pothast will join Sjoberg in the center of the defense. Pothast started every game back in 2012 before redshirting in 2013. He will certainly help replace his brother, Eric Pothast, on the back line. Adam Hermsen figures to step into a larger role after starting 13 games as a sophomore. Coach Bennett also has a lot of talented underclassmen like Jack Alberts and Jake Taylor at his disposal.
Weaknesses:
Marquette has a few impressive weapons on the other side of the pitch. C. Nortey is a great finisher and netted ten goals last season, boosting his two year total to 19. Fellow striker Coco Navarro is coming off of a very promising freshman campaign in which he tallied three goals and five assists. Navarro is nowhere near as efficient as Nortey, but that should get better with experience. In the midfield, Louis Bennett is not afraid to shoot either. He scored four goals and dished out five assists as a freshman and should emerge as the team’s top playmaker. And without Paul Dillon and his seven assists and Kelmend Ismali and his five assists, finding a couple players who can consistently set up Nortey and Navarro will be the difference between a Big East title and a step back.
Final Projection:
Marquette has the potential to gain some major momentum right off the bat. They head to Bloomington to face both Indiana and Notre Dame in the first two games of the year. The non-conference slate is much more manageable after that. The big Big East game will be on October 14th when the Golden Eagles head to Georgetown. Unfortunately for Marquette, they also have to play at Creighton, arguably the third best team in the conference. A Big East title may be out of reach with this schedule, but this is a team with the talent to make a deeper NCA Tournament run in 2014.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Tournament
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 1.48 (66th in nation, 5th in conference)
Goals-Against Average: 0.91 (46, 3)
Shutout Percentage: 0.48 (22, 2)
Save Percentage: 0.804 (40, 2)
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