Marquette University Athletics
Lacrosse faces St. John's Saturday in Queens
4/5/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 5, 2018
| 2018 Marquette Men's Lacrosse - Game 9 | |
| Marquette (4-4, 1-1) vs. St. John's (6-3, 0-1) | |
| Date | Saturday, April 7 | 12 p.m. CT |
| Location | DaSilva Memorial Field | Queens, N.Y. |
| Live Links | WatchESPN | |
| Social Media | Twitter  (in-game updates) | Facebook  | Instagram  |
| Materials | Game Notes  | Record Book |
| HEADstrong | Purchase Uniforms ($30) |
MILWAUKEE - Sitting at .500 overall and in BIG EAST Conference, the Marquette University men's lacrosse team heads to the East Coast for a Saturday afternoon matchup with St. John's at DaSilva Memorial Field in Queens, New York.
The game will be broadcast live through the WatchESPN application, courtesy of SJU-TV.
The Golden Eagles (4-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) have split their opening league games against then-No. 16/18 Georgetown and No. 8 Villanova over the last two weeks and are set to take on a St. John's squad that dropped its league opener to Providence, 14-8, on Saturday.
Marquette, which began the season 3-0, owns victories over then-No. 4 Ohio State in addition to the win over the Hoyas, but is 1-4 in its last five contests. Three players on MU's top faceoff unit have returned from injury over the past few weeks as SSDM Colin Riehl, LSM Noah Richard and face-off specialist Zachary Melillo have all worked their way back into the lineup. Richard was a key player in MU's win over Georgetown and Melillo earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition after winning 17-of-26 face-offs against Villanova while picking up seven ground balls.
Junior John Wagner scored three times against the Wildcats and paces all Golden Eagles with 16 goals and 21 points on the year. He's followed closely by freshman Anthony Orsini, who missed the Michigan game due to injury, with 12 goals and six assists.
The Red Storm (6-3, 0-1 BIG EAST) defeated then-No. 19 Hofstra, 9-8, two weeks ago and had a narrow loss by the same score to then-No. 10 North Carolina on March 3 in Chapel Hill. SJU began its season with a 12-8 loss at then-No. 7 Rutgers and leads the league with 18.22 points per contest (third with 11.22 goals per game).
Joe Madsen has posted 23 goals to lead St. John's and 30 points (20 goals, 10 assists) from Jason DeBenedictis lead the squad. Three other individuals have posted double digit goal totals for the Red Storm, while Matt Oehl (14 assists) and Corey Haynes (10 assists) join DeBenedictis as the team's top distributors.
The Red Storm have started the season strong, claiming all five victories of on its home field for the first time since 2005. To add to its historic start, St. John's nailed down its first win against a ranked opponent in five years against Hofstra, snapping a 21-game losing streak against those in the top-20.
The Golden Eagles tied a program record with 17 goals in a 17-9 victory over St. John's last season in Milwaukee. Tanner Thomson scored a career-high six goals for Marquette and Madsen posted four for SJU, which was out-shot 47-22 by MU. Melillo also won a career-best 19 face-offs for MU on the day, and has won at a .696 percent clip (32-of-46) in his career against SJU.
Marquette is 4-1 all-time against the Red Storm and has won four straight dating back to the 2014 campaign in Queens. MU also won 11-7 at St. John's in 2016 as Andy DeMichiei set the Marquette program record with six goals.
Following Saturday's game, Marquette returns to Milwaukee for its final homestand against No. 10/12 Notre Dame and Providence on April 11 and 14, respectively.
CONTRAST IN SPECIAL TEAMS FOR MARQUETTE
- Marquette's man-up offense and man-down defense have seen success on opposite ends of the spectrum midway through 2018. The penalty killing unit ranks second in the BIG EAST Conference, while the man-up offense is sixth out of six teams.
- DEFENSE - Heading into the March 31 game against Villanova, Marquette's opponents had scored in just one game with the man advantage as Robert Morris converteed on both of its opportunities on March 10 at Valley Fields. As of April 1, MU has allowed a league-low four man-down goals following a 2-of-7 performance by No. 8 Villanova against the Golden Eagles and Marquette holds a .750 penalty killing percentage (4-of-16).
- OFFENSE - Conversely, MU has struggled with the extra attacker in recent games, going just 3-of-16 since its three-game winning streak to begin the season. Due to a mix of youth and injuries the Golden Eagles went 1-of-6 in their first loss to Bellarmine on March 4 and followed that up with a combined 0-of-5 performance in the next three games against Robert Morris (loss), Michigan (loss) and Georgetown (win), before breaking through with a pair of EMO tallies against Villanova (loss) on March 31.
LIME GREEN JERSEYS SOLD ON GOMARQUETTE.COM BENEFIT HEADSTRONG
- In honor of USILA's HEADstrong Awareness Month, the Golden Eagles are selling their remaining uniforms from the 2015 HEAD Coaches Classic against Duke for just $30 on GoMarquette.com's auction site. All proceeds from purchases benefit the HEADstrong Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on improving lives affected by cancer. Various numbers and sizes are available for the white uniforms, which feature lime green numbers with 'Marquette' emblazoned on the front and 'HEADstrong' on the back.
MU TO HOST 'RALLY AT THE VALLEY' ON APRIL 14
- As an end of the year celebration for Marquette students and the Milwaukee community, the Golden Eagles will host a pre-game party at Valley Fields on April 14 prior to the home finale at 2 p.m. against Providence. The event begins at noon and will take place at the Shimek Memorial Track at the eastern end of Valley Fields. All those in attendance at the event will receive complementary admission to the PC game, while supplies last. In addition to local food trucks on site and a beer garden, entertainment will be provided by DJ Shawna and the Bluewater Kings Band.
WAGNER IS LONE RETURNING STARTER ON OFFENSE
- John Wagner has stepped into a more prominent role as the lone returning starter on offense and is leading the way for the Golden Eagles with 16 goals and five assists in 2018. The St. Davids, Ontario native has three game winners through MU's first seven games, including overtime clinchers against then-No. 4/6 Ohio State on March 2 and then-No. 16/18 Georgetown on March 24. He also scored the winner against Jacksonville in the season opener on Feb. 17 with under 10 seconds remaining.
- Wagner tied for second on the team with 22 goals as a sophomore and posted a combined six goals against Denver last season, including a career-high four in the BIG EAST semis. He also scored a total of five goals at Notre Dame with a hat trick in the 2017 NCAA First Round.
- Wagner experienced an up-and-down freshman season in 2016, playing in all 16 games, but scoring in just two of them. The Canadian carved out a more prominent role on the first line as a sophomore and had an eight-game scoring streak that was snapped against Duke on April 22.
MELILLO LEADS FACE-OFF UNIT
- Senior faceoff specialist Zachary Melillo holds a career 55.1 percent mark at the dot and tied his own MU record in the Golden Eagles' NCAA tournament game at Notre Dame last season with 19 wins. His work against Denver's Trevor Baptiste in the last two BIG EAST Championships paved the way for MU's two league tournament crowns.
- The has earned a pair of BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll mentions in 2018 after going 15-of-20 against Detroit Mercy on Feb. 24 and 17-of-26 against No. 8 Villanova on March 31.
- Melillo was called the 2016 team MVP by head coach Joe Amplo because of what his presence at the face-off X meant to the entire Marquette squad. The Warren, New Jersey native went on to set the MU career face-off win record in just his first season with 178 victories. That 56.2 percent clip ranked him 21st in the nation and helped him earn All-BIG EAST Second Team accolades.
BLAZER SECURES THE CREASE
- Goalie Cole Blazer continued his stellar play in net during his first full campaign as MU's starter in 2017, culminating in BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player honors. The junior made a total of 23 saves in the wins over No. 2 Denver and Providence and contributed to his own cause with a goal as time expired against the Pioneers in the semifinals. He posted a .521 save percentage as a junior with a 9.17 goals against average.
- Blazer earned his first BIG EAST weekly accolade of 2018 on March 26 when he was named the league's defensive player of the week after posting a season-high 15 saves in Marquette's league opening OT win over Georgetown on March 24.
- He was named to the 2018 All-BIG EAST Preseason Team, is a two-time All-BIG EAST Second Team selection and has also been selected to the All-BIG EAST Championship team as MU won titles in 2016 and 2017.
NEW FACES PRODUCE ON OFFENSE
- Entering 2018, the Marquette offense returned just one of its top seven and two of its top 11 scorers from last season and has had to adjust without the services of Tanner Thomson, who is redshirting this season. Junior John Wagner and Jack Zerrillo were the only to players returning with more than two goals to their credit last season and MU has had to try different combinations early this year with varying results.
Eleven players have scored their first career points this season for MU:
Anthony Orsini, Ryan Fazio, Connor McClelland, Griffin Fleming, Keaton Thomson, Luke Vassos, Colin Riehl, Josh Williamson, Teddy Goltzman, Tommy von den Benken, Bob Pelton, Colin O'Donnell (assist)
HERSHMAN ON PUERTO RICO NATIONAL TEAM
- Sophomore faceoff specialist Jared Hershman was announced as a member of Puerto Rico's Men's National Team for the 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championships in Netanya, Israel on July 12-21. He is one of 23 members of the active roster, along with nine alternates, and joins University of Tampa's Alex Patton as the lone face-off specialists. Puerto Rico gained membership to the FIL a little over a year ago and whittled its first-ever team from 80 eligible players following player assessment camps, tournament play and a two-day tryout.
- Hershman appeared in five games for the Golden Eagles during his freshman season at the face-off position, going 3-for-11 including two faceoff wins against No. 20 Ohio State. In the absence of Zachary Melillo due to injury this season, Hershman has done a respectable job in his place, including an 11-of-20 performance in the 2018 BIG?EAST?opener against Georgetown on March 24.
MARQUETTE CLAIMS FOURTH TOP-FIVE WIN OVER OHIO STATE
- The Golden Eagles picked up their first win over a ranked opponent this season against then-No. 4/6 Ohio State on March 2 in the Midwest Lacrosse Classic in Pontiac, Michigan. The 8-7 overtime victory pushed MU's record to 4-9 all-time against top-five teams in the USILA Coaches' Poll, 18-6 in one-goal games and 33-1 when entering the fourth quarter with the lead (Marquette has since lost to Bellarmine in OT after entering the fourth with the advantage). In addition to the win over the Buckeyes, MU owns top-five wins over Villanova (No. 5) and Denver (No. 1) in 2016, as well as Denver (No. 2) in last year's BIG EAST tournament.
ORSINI TIES MU FRESHMAN RECORD
- Freshman attackman Anthony Orsini tied a Marquette freshman record with four goals in MU's 13-6 win at Detroit Mercy on Feb. 24 and was named the BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday afternoon. His mark tied him with Conor Gately, who posted four on April 13, 2013 against High Point.
- Orsini also added an assist for five points, the second highest point total for an MU freshman. That mark is second only to Gately's seven points at Mercer on March 12, 2013.
MU CLAIMED SECOND STRAIGHT BIG EAST TITLE IN 2017
- Marquette won its second BIG EAST Conference tournament crown in 2017 with a 10-9 victory over Providence, following an 11-8 semifinal win over No. 2 Denver. Goalie Cole Blazer was named the championship's most outstanding player after making 23 saves in the two games, while then seniors Grant Preisler, Nick Eufrasio and Joe Dunn joined Blazer on the all-tournament squad. The Golden Eagles entered the weekend as the league's No. 4 seed and picked off the top-ranked Pioneers and third-seeded Friars to claim the league's automatic NCAA bid for the second consecutive year. Preisler posted a team-best seven points over the course of the tournament, while then-sophomore John Wagner played a big part in the semifinal win over Denver with a game-best four goals. It was the first time the four seed had claimed the tournament title.
TWO FORMER WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS ON MU ROSTER
- For the first time Marquette has a pair of players on its roster who played lacrosse in the state of Wisconsin in Jordan Schmid (Waukesha, Wis./Kettle Moraine H.S.) and Moey Lardy (Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg). Schmid, who will redshirt the 2018 season after suffering a knee injury in the fall, helped Kettle Moraine to a pair of state titles as junior and senior, and posted 120 goals and 232 points in 71 games over his final three seasons. Lardy, whose parents now live in California, spent his first two years of high school in Cedarburg, Wisconsin and played with the Amplify Lacrosse Club. Lardy became the first Wisconsin high school player to play for Marquette when he made his NCAA debut on Feb. 24 against Detroit - the only other player from the state to ever appear on the MU roster was Ryan Condon (Wausau, Wis.) in 2013, who never played for the Golden Eagles.
NEW SEASONAL DOME AT VALLEY FIELDS; AHPRC BROKE GROUND ON MARCH 6
- Marquette's seasonal dome over the FieldTurf Revolution 360 surface at Valley Fields provides a climate-controlled practice and game facility for the Golden Eagles during the winter months. The Golden Eagles played all their home games at Valley Fields for the first time in 2016, after making the move in towards campus from Hart Park in Wauwatosa, where they had played during their first three seasons.
- MU officially broke ground for its new Athletic and Human Performance Research Center at a ceremony Tuesday, March 6. The $24 million, 46,000-square-foot AHPRC will be built in phases under a long-term master plan. The first phase will include:
- Space for faculty researchers who work in a wide variety of academic fields.
- Locker rooms and support space for the lacrosse programs and golf team.
- Additional strength and conditioning spaces for the athletic department and a centralized core of laboratories for conducting human performance research.
