Sophomore midfielder Jay Chapman had an early chance with a shot from the top of the box less than five minutes into the game that was saved by the Marquette keeper.

It took until the 26th minute for the Golden Eagles to get their first shot on goal of the game when a header off a corner kick was easily gobbled up by sophomore goalkeeper Zach Bennett.

“Our guys did a good job establishing the tempo we wanted to,” head coach Damon Rensing said. “We had a good mentality and we were dangerous right from the start.”

Kreutz broke the deadlock in the 35th minute after taking a through ball from Chapman. His shot from 10 yards out deflected off a Marquette defender and past the goalkeeper.

“Jay got a turn and dribbled at their back line I kind of opened up and made a run to the left,” Kreutz said. “He gave it to me at the top of the box and I put it on my left foot and took a hard touch past the defender and took a shot with my left foot. It was a goal that was all about following our game plan.”

The Spartans continued the onslaught of shots for the remainder of the first half, and went into the break leading the shooting category, 11-5, including four shots on goal.

Sophomore midfielder Sean Conerty doubled the scoreline in the 51st minute off a cross from the right side of the box from senior midfielder Brent McIntosh.

Despite the second half goal from MSU, Marquette dominated much of the possession, winning 11 corners and outshooting MSU 21-14.

“Once we gave up two goals they really started pushing the ball forward which we expected,” Bennett said. “(Marquette) started getting corners and were creating back there for the last part of the game. (MSU’s defense) had some big time blocks so I didn’t have to make a save. All around a great shutout for the defense.”

The shutout was Bennett’s third of the season, lowering his goals against average to .50, and his six saves moves his save percentage to .83.

The win was overshadowed by the fact that senior defender Kevin Cope didn’t see the field because of an injury. He was replaced on the back line by junior midfielder Fatai Alashe.

Both Bennett and Rensing were impressed with the outstanding job Alashe did while filling in for the senior captain.

The Spartans return to action at 5 p.m. Wednesday against Bowling Green at DeMartin Stadium.
While Kreutz and the Spartans are savoring this win, he said they’re still focused on the matchup against the Falcons.

“It gives us a lot of momentum, which is exactly what our team needed right now,” Kreutz said. “We’re ecstatic on the bus right now, but starting tomorrow, we’re going to get right back to it and watch the video. Knowing we did well is going to help us to try to stick to the game plan against Bowling Green on Wednesday.”