VILLANOVA, Pa. – Marquette (5-3-1 overall, 1-0-0 BIG EAST) picked up a second half goal off a broken play and it was the difference in a 3-2 victory over Villanova on a sunny, warm September afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex Friday.

The Wildcats notched a pair of pretty goals but were victimized by two penalty kicks in the first 45 minutes of the BIG EAST opener for both teams.

"We came into this with a clean slate as we began conference play," stated Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow. "I thought we had a good approach and we were able to get the early goal."

The initial goal began on the right side near the Marquette bench. Graduate transfer Michael teDuits fed a ball forward to Branden Johns. Johns drove towards the end line and then sent a low cross to Colby Raymond, park in the middle of the 18-yard box. Raymond took the pass and fired a shot past Golden Eagles goalkeeper Marten Brink at 6:35.

The goal was Raymond's third of the season.

But a mere two minutes later, Marquette was awarded a penalty kick after the ball struck a Wildcats' defender inside the 18-yard box. Mitar Mitrovic calmly deposited the ball inside the left post to level the contest at one.

Midway through the period, a Golden Eagles bid in front of Wildcats goalkeeper ended in a second PK for the Golden Eagles. Mitrovic again took care of the penalty kick, putting the Golden Eagles up 2-1.

The Wildcats didn't wait long to put together another crisp passing play. This time Josh Oladele sent a ball through the middle of the field to Johns, who then redirected it to the foot of Jordan Canica. From there, Canica finished the play for this third goal of the campaign at the 32:10 mark.

"Those are the kinds of possessions we're looking for," Fetrow said. "We had some really good passing on both of those goals."

That's where the contest stood at halftime.

The second half was an even affair as both teams attempted nine shots. The Wildcats created a bunch of quality chances but it was Marquette that got the goal. A deflected clearance landed on the foot of the Golden Eagles Ryan Amond, and he sent the ball into the net at 66:18.

Villanova freshman goalkeeper Alex Yagudayev ended the day with 12 saves, several of which were of the spectacular variety.

"We had some moments where we let things get away from us," said Fetrow. "We've got to be more clinical in our own end."

Villanova returns to action on Tuesday with a Philly Soccer Six matchup against Penn at the Higgins Soccer Complex. The Wildcats will celebrate Unitas Day for that one with kickoff set for just after 4 p.m.