Marquette Women’s Soccer Preview: at #17 Baylor & vs Loyola Chicago
Off to Waco for a battle with a ranked opponent before coming home for a local-ish contest.
Marquette Women's Soccer faces two challenging matches this weekend, each presenting a unique set of obstacles. The first match is against #17 ranked Baylor Bears at their home, Betty Lou Mays Field in Waco, Texas. This is the first meeting between Marquette and Baylor, with Baylor currently sitting at #17 in the United Soccer Coaches poll after a season of ups and downs.
The Golden Eagles will be without their leading scorer, Megan Murray, who is off with the Philippine national team for the Asian Games and is expected to be out for at least five matches.
The second match is against Loyola Chicago Ramblers at Valley Fields in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Marquette has a strong historical record against Loyola, having won three out of three previous encounters. Loyola has struggled this season, scoring just three goals in total, with Maggie Schmidt being the primary offensive threat with two goals. Loyola's lone scorer, Josslyn Weissman, has yet to find the back of the net this season.
Marquette's offensive pressure will be crucial in both matches, especially now that Murray is out of the lineup. The Golden Eagles will need to find ways to keep the pressure on their opponents and limit their opponents' scoring opportunities, particularly as freshman keeper Mia Hurd takes over the starting role.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.