MILWAUKEE - The Marquette men's soccer team tallied its first win over a ranked opponent this season, beating RV/16 Georgetown, 1-0, Saturday night at Valley Fields. The goal at the 28:19 mark by Calum Mallace was the earliest goal scored by the Golden Eagles this season, and the only MU has tallied in the first half.

"Georgetown is a good team," said MU head coach Louis Bennett. "There were times when they carried larger parts of the game in the second half, and we just had to defend, but that's the beauty and agony of soccer. I'm happy that we're on the right end of a 1-0 victory."

With the win, Bennett's squad picks up three valuable points in the BIG EAST Conference, and now stand at fifth in the Blue Division, moving up a spot following a Providence-Seton Hall draw Saturday night. The top six teams in each division advance to the BIG EAST Tournament in November.

The win over Georgetown was the first-ever for the Golden Eagles, who entered the match with four losses all-time against the Washington, D.C. school. The Hoyas boast one of the top defenses in that nation, tallying eight shutouts and a 0.60 goals against average this season.

Marquette (3-7-3, 2-3-3 BIG EAST) took the lead in the 29th minute, which it would maintain for the rest of the game, after a corner kick by junior Anthony Colaizzi was redirected by sophomore Michael Alfano and found the head of sophomore Calum Mallace at the back post, who headed the ball past Georgetown junior goalkeeper Matthew Brutto. The goal was Mallace's third of the season, and the fourth of his career, all of which have been game-winners. He tallied a team-leading three shots in 90 minutes, including two on frame.

"It was a very, very resilient performance," said Bennett. "At times the game wasn't very pretty, but the whole purpose of training all week is to be resilient and to be able to put the ball in the back of the net. I thought we had some chances, they had some chances; we managed to take ours, then Pyzdrowski made a couple of very good saves."

The Hoyas outshot Marquette in both halves, holding an 18-16 advantage on the match, but managed only five shots on goal to MU's eight.

Georgetown (8-5-1, 5-3 BIG EAST) nearly evened the score in the first half when a ball rebounded from a direct kick in the 31st minute and freshman Tommy Muller tallied a shot on goal. In the 39th minute, a close range shot from Georgetown freshman Jimmy Nealis hit the side netting of the goal. Minutes later, a header in the box by sophomore David Madison forced MU senior goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski to deflect the ball out of the area.

Marquette had a quality opportunity to cushion its lead in the first half when freshman Andrew Krynski found himself isolated with two Hoya defenders in the corner of the box, and managed to rocket a strong shot directly at Brutto.

After halftime, intensity in the match increased as Georgetown scrambled to net an equalizer and the Marquette defense resisted the pressure from the Hoyas while trying to tally an insurance goal.

In the 62nd minute, Georgetown junior forward Jose Colchao tallied one of his two shots of the night from inside the box, shooting the ball just outside the far post.

Following a Georgetown foul and subsequent yellow card in the 70th minute, MU freshman Andy Huftalin gathered a Georgetown header in the box, and headed his own shot from inside the goal box to the top right corner of the net, forcing a Brutto deflection over the crossbar.

The last minutes of the game were a push effort for each squad, with Marquette taking two shots in the final three minutes, and Georgetown nearly netting the equalizer with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

A cross from the right side drew the Georgetown keeper out of the net, battling for the ball in the air with Colaizzi. The ball found senior Nick Kay at the top of the box, whose shot went wide left in the 89th minute.

Senior Tom Lynn's bicycle kick in the 89th minute nearly saved a goal for the Golden Eagles. The senior defender cleared the ball as Pyzdrowski went down for a save with a crowd gathering in front of the net.

With under 30 seconds left, a Georgetown shot by junior Seth C'deBaca from the right side was blocked by MU senior defender Billy Von Rueden.

The shutout was the second straight for Pyzdrowski, and his fourth of the season, matching last season's total. Brutto tallied seven saves in 90 minutes for the Hoyas, who Marquette had previously never beaten.

Eight Marquette players were on the pitch for all 90 minutes, including Pyzdrowski, Mallace, Colaizzi, Lynn, Alfano, Von Rueden, Scott Miller and Matt Stummer.

The Golden Eagles take to the road for three consecutive road games at Wisconsin, Providence and Connecticut before returning to Valley Fields, October 31 against Pittsburgh for Senior Night. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m.