(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) – The Marquette University women’s soccer team (7-1-6, 3-0-2 BIG EAST) returns home for a pair of BIG EAST matches this week, hosting Xavier (9-2-3, 3-0-3 BIG EAST) tonight in a battle for first place before welcoming UConn (3-3-7, 1-1-3) on Saturday, Oct. 24. Kickoff against Xavier is set for 6 p.m. CT, while Saturday’s match begins at 1 p.m. CT. Both matches will stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
Marquette extended its winning streak to three matches and unbeaten streak to seven with a 2-0 victory at St. John’s on Oct. 17. Kaylie Sheehan opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing a pass from Haley Christianson and Kiley McMinn, before Coco Dorfman doubled the lead in the 55th minute off assists from McMinn and Emily Fix.
Mia Hurd recorded her seventh shutout of the season as the Golden Eagles held St. John’s to five shots and one shot on goal. The win improved the Golden Eagles to 3-0-2 in BIG EAST play, leaving them one point behind first-place Xavier entering Wednesday’s matchup.
MU Building BIG EAST Momentum
The Golden Eagles enter Wednesday’s match against Xavier with a 3-0-2 BIG EAST record, marking just the 16th time in program history, and the third time since 2015, that MU has gone unbeaten through its first five conference matches.
Marquette’s five-match unbeaten streak is tied for the 10th-longest in program history, alongside the 2025, 2015, 2007, 2005 and 2004 teams. The Golden Eagles’ last longer unbeaten start to conference play came in 2013, when they opened 9-0-0.
With five regular-season matches remaining, extending the streak to six would tie the 1996 and 2001 teams for eighth-longest in program history. Seven unbeaten matches would tie the 1997 and 2009 squads for sixth, while a 10-match streak would tie the 2012 team for third.
Hurd Among Nation’s Best
Freshman goalkeeper Mia Hurd has established herself as one of the nation’s top first-year goalkeepers. Among freshmen, Hurd ranks first in save percentage (.882) and goals-against average (0.44) and is tied for second with six shutouts. Overall, she is tied for 11th nationally in save percentage and ranks 12th in goals-against average.
Through five BIG EAST matches, Hurd ranks among the conference’s top three in four major goalkeeping categories. She leads the league in goals-against average (0.40) and ranks second in save percentage (.895), trailing only Seton Hall’s Katherine Kleinsmith (.913). Hurd also ranks third in shutouts per game (.600) with three and second in saves per game (3.40), totaling 17 saves while allowing just two goals.
MU Extends Historic Streaks
Through 14 matches, Marquette has either recorded a shutout or allowed just one goal in every contest, extending the longest such streak in program history. The run surpasses the 2008 Golden Eagles, who went 11 consecutive matches without allowing multiple goals before conceding twice in a 4-2 win at DePaul on Oct. 3, 2008.
Marquette carries a seven-match unbeaten streak (4-0-3) into its home matchup with Xavier, its longest single-season unbeaten run since 2017, when the Golden Eagles went eight consecutive matches without a loss. The program record is 17 consecutive matches, set in 2012 when Marquette went 15-0-2 during the streak.
MU Against Xavier & UConn
Marquette holds a 9-6-1 advantage in the all-time series against Xavier, including a 6-2-1 record at home. However, the Musketeers have won the last three meetings, including a 7-1 victory last season. Marquette’s most recent win in the series came during the 2020-21 season, when the Golden Eagles earned a 3-1 home victory. The Golden Eagles’ largest margin of victory against Xavier was a 3-0 result on Oct. 29, 2017.
MU also leads the all-time series against UConn, 6-5-2, and owns a 5-2 record at home. UConn won the most recent meeting, 3-0, at Valley Fields on Oct. 13, 2024, while the teams played to a scoreless draw in Storrs, Connecticut, on Oct. 1, 2023. Marquette’s largest victory in the series was a 4-1 home win on Oct. 28, 2012
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