MILWAUKEE, Wisc. – The Western Michigan women's soccer team concluded its non-conference schedule by dropping a match to Marquette, 2-1, on Thursday night at Valley Fields. WMU now enters Mid-American Conference play with a 4-3-0 overall record. 

"Obviously, we're very disappointed in our second half performance tonight," head coach Lewis Robinson said. "After a first half where we played very well for the majority, we really failed in implementing our game plan and lost to a very gritty Marquette team. We will definitely learn a lot from this game and use it to be ready for conference play next week."

FIRST HALF
Neither team could get much going early on, as the first shot of the game didn't come until the fifth minute. WMU goalkeeper Lauren Boafo was there to make her lone save of the half. As the half progressed to the 13th minute, Brielle Gomez fired WMU's first shot on net, but it was saved by the Golden Eagles. 

After a goal kick from Boafo in the 26th minute, the ball found the foot of Abby Werthman who flicked a pass over the Marquette defense to Jen Blitchok. She chipped the ball by the MU goaltender and chased after it before eventually finding the back of the net to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. 

Down the stretch of the first half, WMU would continue to control play, as Drew Martin, Reagan Wisser and Stephanie Currie would each record shots in the final 10 minutes. Currie's shot went just over the crossbar following a corner kick from Madi Canada. 

SECOND HALF
The second half began with Marquette carrying the play. Just under 10 minutes into the half, the Golden Eagles knotted the game at 1-1 on a shot that snuck inside the far left post. The Broncos wouldn't get a shot until the 64th minute, as Wisser sent a shot just high. 

Though the two teams would split possession the rest of the way, Marquette found the go-ahead goal, thanks to a penalty called in the box. The Golden Eagles' penalty-kick goal was scored with 1:14 left to play. 

The Broncos did get one last chance on net, with Martin testing Marquette's goaltender with 25 seconds left. However, the Golden Eagle's would walk away with a 2-1 victory. 

Overall, the game was even stat wise. Both teams had eight total shots and three on goal. WMU led in corners, 7-5 and committed one more foul (16-15). 

UP NEXT
The Broncos will begin MAC play on Thursday, Sept. 21 at home against Northern Illinois. The game is set for 4 p.m. and tickets can be purchased here.