WSOC Opens BIG EAST Play at Butler

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University women's soccer team (4-1-4, 0-0-0 BIG EAST) begins BIG EAST play on Saturday, traveling to Indianapolis, Ind. to face Butler (5-2-1, 0-0-0 BIG EAST) at the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT and will stream on ESPN+.

Last Time Out
Marquette closed the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 3-1 victory over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 19 at Valley Fields, improving to 4-1-4 on the season. After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the Golden Eagles scored three goals in the second half to secure the win. Haley Christianson opened the scoring just 1:51 into the second half, scoring off assists from Ava Jack Shaw and Kaylie Sheehan, before Eastern Illinois equalized in the 50th minute.

Marquette regained the lead in the 82nd minute when Emily Fix scored her first goal of the season off assists from Sheehan and Kiley McMinn. Christianson added her second goal of the night just over two minutes later, marking the first multi-goal game of her career, with Ava Jack Shaw providing the assist. The Golden Eagles finished with a 27-7 advantage in shots, including a 10-3 edge in shots on goal.

BIG EAST Opening Match History
Marquette has posted an 8-6-1 record in its conference openers over the last 15 seasons, including a 33-21 scoring advantage. The Golden Eagles won five consecutive conference-opening matches from 2011-15, with three of those victories coming against Creighton and two against Pittsburgh.

Butler has been a familiar opponent in Marquette's conference opener in recent years, with Saturday's match-up marking the sixth time the two teams have opened conference play against one another in the last 15 seasons. Marquette is 0-4-1 against the Bulldogs in the previous five BIG EAST openers, including a 2-2 draw at Valley Fields last season and a 1-0 loss in Indianapolis in 2024.

Since 2022, Marquette is 2-1-1 in conference-opening matches, earning victories at DePaul in 2022 and against DePaul in 2023 before the 2-2 draw against Butler last season.

Hurd Earns Five-Straight Honors
On Monday, Sept. 21, the BIG EAST announced Mia Hurd as the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week, marking her fifth-straight weekly conference honor to open her collegiate career.

Hurd earned the honor after making two saves in Marquette's 3-1 victory over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 19. The true freshman faced three shots on goal and turned aside two of them in 90 minutes of action to help the Golden Eagles close out their nonconference schedule with a victory.

Hurd has now earned either BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week or Honor Roll recognition in each of the first five weeks of her collegiate career, including three Goalkeeper of the Week honors and two Honor Roll selections.

Hurd currently ranks 16th nationally and leads the BIG EAST in save percentage (.875) and 28th in goals-against average (0.471).

Christianson Named to Honor Roll
On Monday, Sept. 21, the BIG EAST announced Haley Christianson as a member of the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll following her performance against Eastern Illinois.

Christianson recorded the first multi-goal game of her career in Marquette's 3-1 victory over the Panthers on Sept. 19. The senior forward scored twice on three shots on goal, with both goals coming in the second half, and accounted for two of the Golden Eagles' three goals in the victory.

The Honor Roll selection marks Christianson's first BIG EAST weekly conference honor of the season and her career.

Offense On the Rise
Against Eastern Illinois, the Golden Eagles recorded 27 total shots and 10 shots on goal, marking just the fourth time since 2015 that Marquette has recorded at least 27 shots in a match.

Entering BIG EAST play, Marquette is averaging 1.67 goals per game, matching its 2025 scoring average. That mark is the program's highest average since 2013, when the Golden Eagles averaged 2.36 goals per game. Only 13 teams in program history have averaged at least 1.67 goals per game.

Series with Butler Dates to 1995
Marquette's all-time series with Butler dates back to 1995, but the two teams didn't start meeting regularly until the Bulldogs joined the BIG EAST Conference.

With a 2-2 draw in Milwaukee in 2025, The Golden Eagles snapped a two game losing streak. Marquette hasn't defeated Butler since a 4-1 decision in 2022 in Indianapolis which ended an eight-game losing streak.