MSOC Earns 1-0 Victory Over Harvard

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team (4-0-0, 0-0-0 BIG EAST) posted its fourth-straight victory with 1-0 win over Harvard (0-1-1, 0-0-0 Ivy) on a 95-degree Monday afternoon at Valley Fields.

"Some games we're going to have to win ugly," head coach Louis Bennett said in his opening statement. "We're going to have to win when things don't go perfect and I think that's what we did today."

The Golden Eagles found themselves in a back and forth defensive battle early on. MU came out looking to dissect Harvard's defense with great ball movement, while pushing forward in the first 15 minutes of the match, but Harvard's back line would not allow many quality looks.

In the 24^th minute of the contest, Jonas Moen nearly found the back of the net after the ball deflected off a Harvard defender and hit the inside of the top of the goal post before landing in the keeper's hand. After VAR, the officials concluded that Harvard's keeper saved it before it passed through the goal line.

Momentum shifted in Marquette's favor after the near goal from Moen. The Golden Eagles turned up the offensive pressure in the 30^th minute when Beto Soto tried to cross the ball through the box and caught Harvard's back line out of position, resulting in a deflected own goal for a 1-0 Marquette advantage.

After a much-needed halftime break due to the extreme heat in Milwaukee, both squads came out of the locker room aggressively and traded shots early in the second half.

In the end, MU's defense prevailed in the second half, with quality tackles and clearances to not let the Crimson find the back of the net. The 1-0 final was Marquette's third shutout of the campaign.

Keeper Ludvig Målberg earned his third-straight clean sheet after playing the 90 minutes in goal for the Golden Eagles.

The team's four-straight wins to open the season is the best start for the Golden Eagles since the 2012 campaign.

Sophomore Lucas Nesthus earned his first career start as a Golden Eagle.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles return to action on Friday, September 8 as the team host UTRGV for a 7:05 p.m. CT matchup at Valley Fields.

Keep up with the Marquette men's soccer program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteSoccer) and Instagram (@MarquetteSoccer) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteSoccer).