Men’s soccer hosts Marquette

By Abraham Murguia

Men’s soccer (2-2-2) will attempt to keep its home record clean as it looks to take down another team ranked in the top 25.

The Huskies will take on the No. 17 Marquette Golden Eagles (4-2-0) 7 p.m. Friday at the Soccer and Track & Field Complex. The Huskies beat the then-No. 23 Illinois-Chicago Flames (3-2-1), 1-0, Friday and tied the Green Bay Phoenix (3-2-1), 2-2, Sunday.

The Golden Eagles are on a four-game winning streak with their only losses coming against then-No. 1 Notre Dame (3-1-1), 2-1, and Indiana (3-1-1), 1-0.

“They’re a good team, obviously. They are ranked No. 17,” said head coach Eric Luzzi. “They are very good on the ball and are great offensively as well as their back four.”

The Golden Eagles have accumulated 78 shots and eight goals while the Huskies have 70 shots and seven goals.

Sophomore Chris Paton was named co-MAC Player of the Week. Paton leads the Huskies in points (six) and is tied for the lead in assists (two). He is also tied as leading goal scorer at two goals with senior Isaac Kannah.

Two players the Huskies will keep an eye on are junior defender Axel Sjoberg and junior forward David Selvaggi. Sjoberg was recently honored as Big East Defensive Player of the Week, while Selvaggi leads the team in points (seven), shots (16) and goals (three) and has one assist.

Luzzi said the game will be a difficult one, but the Huskies don’t fear teams because of their ranking.

“Every game is tough, but our guys are used to playing good teams,” Luzzi said. “We want to play the best and that’s why we put on a tough schedule. Our main focus is just to give a full 90-minute performance. If we do so, there is no doubt in my mind that we will come out on top.”