TAMPA, Fla. -- USF defeated Marquette 2-1 Thursday in the first round of the 2009 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship from USF Soccer Stadium. With the loss, the Golden Eagles (4-11-3) are eliminated their first postseason tournament appearance in seven years and finish the season with an overall record of 4-11-3.

The Bulls (13-3-2) meanwhile extend the nation's longest home unbeaten streak to 29 games -- the eighth longest streak in NCAA Division I history -- and will advance to the second round to play at Notre Dame on Sunday, Nov. 8.

"I think the frailty that we showed at the beginning, not being able to impose our personality on the game, allowed them to dominate large section of the game and we couldn't get a foothold," said Marquette head coach Louis Bennett. "We tried to make those adjustments at halftime, but I don't think it became apparent until our back were against the wall."

Down 2-0, Marquette's Adam Lysak gave his squad a breath of hope when he scored 10 minutes from time to make the score 2-1. Lysak's goal was his second of the season against the Bulls. MU had a number of other close chances in the waning minutes, but was unable force overtime.

It was a physical, fast-paced match from the opening kickoff, but neither team displayed an ability to keep possession early on as both squads appeared to be out of rhythm in the first half. At times, there was poor distribution by the Marquette midfielders and backs while USF missed out on multiple scoring chances by failing to connect on numerous crosses in the box.

USF midfielder Jorge Mora got the Bulls' offense going early. Marquette gave the ball away in its defensive half. After the ball bounced around near the top of the box it fell to Mora on the near side of the field. Mora swung with a big left boot and deposited the ball into the top left corner of the net from 25 yards out to give USF a 1-0 advantage in the 14th minute.

Marquette's first scoring opportunity came after winger Amilcar Herrera was fouled near the right corner of the box. Calum Mallace directed the ensuing free kick to the front of the net where Scott Miller sent a diving header wide right and over the cross bar.

Less than a minute later the Golden Eagles recorded their first shot on goal as Matt Leonard sent a long pass into MU's attacking third. The ball was headed forward by Chris Madsen and it was picked up in the middle of the field by Anthony Colaizzi who rocketed a shot directly at USF goalkeeper Jeff Attinella.

The Bulls nearly added to its lead at the 9:08 mark in the first half when a through ball was played to the endline, but a cross inside the six-yard box missed two USF defenders.

With under a minute left in the first stanza, another MU turnover led to a dangerous opportunity for the Bulls. However, the ball was dispossessed and  MU quickly countered led by Herrera, but Madsen was called offside before his shot went wide right of the goal.

Both teams settled in a bit more in the second half as the contest became more of a possession game. MU was more efficient at passing the ball, which led to more scoring chances. But USF was able to add its second goal -- the eventual game-winner -- at the 13:43 mark.

A long cross from Javed Mohammed to the front of the net found the head of Sebastian Thuriere who rose up above an MU defender and put it into the back of the net from 10 yards out to make it 2-0.

Moments after checking into the game, Lysak benefitted from a long punt by MU goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski that Madsen fired on target and deflected off of Attinella. Lysak was there for the rebound to make it 2-1. Lysak's goal initiated a series of scoring opportunities to follow.

Herrera was inches away from netting the equalizer with six minutes from time when he fired another shot from within the box that was deflected away from a diving Attinella.

Marquette finished with 10 shots on the evening, while four of their six shots on goal came in the second half. On the other end of the pitch, Pyzdrowski played brilliantly in his final match as a Golden Eagle. The senior keeper faced 16 shots by USF and made six saves.

"Tonight just epitomized what 'Pyz' has meant to our squad," said Bennett. He was fantastic tonight, and I thought he was probably the best player on the field. He made some great saves and kept us in the game.

"When the final whistle blew, there was no mistake about our determination, our heart." said Bennett. We did show flashes of our talent. If you give 100 percent, that's all you can ever ask. Considering all of the circumstances, I think our guys did give 100 percent. When that pain subsides, you can look back and be proud your effort."