ALTON - Maicol Gonzalez had a brace (two goals), as Marquette Catholic outshot Alton for the match 17-4, scoring four unanswered goals after the Redbirds equalized in taking a 5-1 win in the Riverbend Derby match played Saturday night at Public School Stadium.
The Explorers outshot the Redbirds in the second half 8-1, and put up a stellar back wall, not allowing Alton many chances on the night, especially in the second half, in taking the Derby match.
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Marquette struck first when Cameron Golike found the back of the net, but in the 21st minute, Chad Fournie struck to give Alton the equalizer at 1-1. After that, it was all Explorers, starting with Gonzalez's first goal in the 25th minute, and Quinn Copeland scored in the 36th minute to give Marquette a 3-1 lead at the interval.
In the second half, Jude Keller scored in the 49th minute, and in the 54th, Gonzalez got his second goal as the Marquette defense clamped down on the Redbirds and dominated the rest of the match in going on to take the Riverbend Derby and lay claim to the three points.
The Explorers are now 8-1-1, one of their best starts in recent years, and return home to Glazebrook Park in Godfrey on Monday and Tuesday, meeting Granite City in a 4:30 p.m. start. and Belleville Althoff Catholic in a Gateway Metro Conference match on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
The Redbirds drop to 4-4-1, and host Collinsville on Tuesday, and O'Fallon on Thursday at Public School Stadium in a pair of Southwestern Conference matches. Kickoff time for both matches will be 6:30 p.m.
