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Sept. 6, 2007

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette men's soccer team will host its first game of the season at Valley Fields on Friday, September 7. Marquette will face Xavier at 7 p.m.

The Golden Eagles will be facing yet another tough opponent in Xavier. The Musketeers come into the contest with a 2-0 mark and won its last contest, defeating UNLV, 4-0. Marquette is coming off a 3-1 loss at UIC and is 0-2.

Marquette rallied against UIC, but came up short. Bennett said he was pleased with what he saw in the second half against UIC as the Golden Eagles cut a 2-0 deficit to one and put continued pressure on the Flames late in the contest.

"I like what I saw in the second half against UIC. They started to do what we are expecting them to do," head coach Louis Bennett said. "I am convinced that goal scoring will not be this year. We have the players who are going to put us in position to score."

But more will be on the mind of head coach Louis Bennett as he prepares his team for its home opener.

Bennett will be honoring a friend who passed away earlier this summer.

From OnMilwaukee.com writer Drew Olson: At some point Friday, when the September sun sinks in the sky and the afternoon takes its gentle turn toward evening, Marquette University men's soccer coach Louis Bennett will stand alone in front of a mirror, knot his tie and prepare to lead his team out to face Xavier on the turf at Valley Fields.

His hands may tremble a little. His eyes might dampen, too. The final hours before a match are always exciting and emotional for a coach, but Bennett knows the feelings that wash over him during that private moment will be different.

In addition to corner kicks, counter-attacks and the usual concerns about the quality of his team's pre-game preparation, Bennett will think about life, death, love, loss and long bus rides through the Midwest. A thousand miles away, Bennett's close friend, Brian Tompkins, the head men's coach at Yale University, will be experiencing similar sentiments in the quiet moments before his team plays host to Northwestern at Reese Stadium in New Haven, Conn.

The tie that binds the two coaches will be their neckties.

Bennett, who was Tompkins' assistant and eventual successor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, started wearing ties on the sideline "a long time ago" and convinced Tompkins to do the same.

To read all of the OnMilwaukee.com article, click here.