Lacrosse seeks third BIG EAST Championship
5/1/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
May 1, 2018
| 2018 Marquette Men's Lacrosse - Game 14 | |
| Marquette (6-7) vs. #3 Denver (11-2) | |
| Date | Thursday, May 3 | 3:30 p.m. CT |
| Location | Villanova Stadium | Villanova, Pa. |
| Live Links | CBS Sports Network | |
| Social Media | Twitter  (in-game updates) | Facebook  | Instagram  |
| Materials | Game Notes  | Record Book |
| BIG EAST | Tournament Central |
MILWAUKEE - For the third straight season, the Marquette University men's lacrosse team will face top-seeded Denver in the BIG EAST Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship, presented by Jeep.
The Golden Eagles (6-7, 3-2 BIG EAST) and No. 3 Pioneers (11-2, 5-0 BIG EAST) will meet in the tournament semifinals on Thursday, May 3 at 3:30 p.m. Central time in a contest televised live on CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden (play-by-play) and Evan Washburn on the call at Villanova Stadium
Marquette is 4-2 all-time in the league's postseason tournament and, while a perfect 4-0 in the last two seasons, lost both of its previous semifinal games played at Villanova Stadium in 2014 and 2015. Denver is 6-2 all-time against the Golden Eagles but have fallen to Marquette in the 2016 final and 2017 semifinal.
MU is led into Thursday's contest by junior John Wagner's team-best 27 goals and 35 points, while freshman Anthony Orsini, who has missed three of the last four games, sits second with 14 goals and 21 points. Wagner has scored 15 times in BIG EAST play to lead the league and has game winners in all three of MU's conference games.
The fourth-seeded Golden Eagles tied for second in the league standings at 3-2 with league wins over Georgetown, St. John's and Providence, but lost the tie-breakers for the No. 2 and 3 seeds by virtue of their goal differential against Villanova and GU.
Marquette fell at Denver, 7-4, in the regular season finale for both squads on Saturday at Peter Barton Stadium as the Pioneers won 11-of-13 face-offs and out-shot MU, 37-25. Ethan Walker posted four points, including three assists, while Austin French posted a hat trick.
Denver (11-2, 5-0 BIG EAST) earned its fifth BIG EAST regular season crown and has never lost to a BIG EAST foe during regular season action (26-0). Ninth-year head coach Bill Tierney leads a Pios squad that has won seven in a row since an 11-9 loss at Notre Dame on March 10. DU's only other loss came at Duke, 15-12, on Feb. 16 in Durham after it surrendered a fourth-quarter lead.
Tierney is second all-time in NCAA victories (392) behind Duke's John Danowski (395) and has won seven NCAA titles, six at Princeton in addition to his 2015 crown with Denver.
Trevor Baptiste, a 2017 Tewaaraton Award finalist and the No. 1 pick in the 2018 MLL Draft, is second all-time in NCAA history in both ground balls and faceoff victories and owns a career mark of .719 (1,104-1,536) at the X in his illustrious career. Walker paces the DU offense with 42 goals and 63 points, while French has a team-high 26 helpers this season.
Walker scored four times in last year's 16-8 regular season win over Marquette in Milwaukee, but was held scoreless in MU's 11-8 triumph in the BIG EAST semifinals a week later. Wagner scored a then-career high four goals for Marquette in the semifinal win and goalie Cole Blazer made 12 saves and assisted his own effort with a goal as time expired.
In addition to last year's semifinal win over the then-No. 2 Pioneers, Marquette took down top-ranked Denver at Peter Barton Stadium in the 2016 title game. The victory snapped a 22-game home winning streak by DU and was the Pioneers' first loss to a BIG EAST team since joining the league.
The winner of Thursday's semifinal game will face either No. 17/18 Georgetown (two seed) or No. 12/14 Villanova (three seed) in the championship on Saturday, May 5 at 1 p.m. Central time.
2018 MARQUETTE LACROSSE SENIOR CLASS
- Record: 35-26 (12-8 BIG EAST)
- Two-time BIG EAST Tournament Champions
- Two NCAA Championship Appearances
- Nearly 30 weeks in the national rankings and 46 total weeks receiving votes
- First win in program history over a ranked team came in 2015 debut (at Leigh on 2/7/15)
- Four wins over top five teams
- 4-1 record in the BIG EAST Championship
NOTABLE CAREER MARKS VERSUS DENVER:
- MU all-time record: 2-6 (2-0 in BIG EAST tournament)
- Cole Blazer (6 GP, 2-3, 10.68 gaa, .474 sv%, 45 svs, 50 ga, 1g)
- Zachary Melillo (5 GP, 38-of-106, .358 fo%, 14 gb)
- Noah Richard (4 GP, 5 gb, 3 ct)
- John Wagner (5 GP, 7g, 20 shots, 2 gb, 6 to)
- Colin Riehl (5 GP, 4 gb, 2 ct, 1g)
- Tanner Thomson (4 GP, 9g, 2a, 11 pts) 2018 Redshirt
MARQUETTE MAKING FIFTH TRIP TO BIG EAST SEMIS
- The two-time reigning BIG EAST tournament champions qualified for the league tournament semifinals for the fifth time in as many seasons and are in search of their third tournament crown. The Golden Eagles lost in the semifinals during each of their first two trips to the conference tournament with a 9-8 loss to Villanova in 2014 and a 12-8 loss to Georgetown in 2015, both of which came at Villanova. MU's last two tournament appearances have resulted in championship in both 2016 and 2017 at Denver and Providence.
MU's BIG EAST Championship Results:
2014 (Villanova, Pa. - Two Seed)
Semis: L, 9-6 at Villanova
2015 (Villanova, Pa. - Three Seed)
Semis: L, 12-8 vs. No. 13 Georgetown
2016 (Denver, Colo. - Two Seed)
Semis: W, 14-9 vs. No. 16 Villanova
Final: W, 10-9 vs. No. 1 Denver
2017 (Providence, R.I. - Four Seed)
Semis: W, 11-8 vs. No. 2 Denver
Final: W, 10-9 vs. Providence
RICHARD IS THE DIFFERENCE IN THE MIDFIELD
- Junior LSM Noah Richard has played a big role in Marquette's victories this season, all of which have come with him in the lineup. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native recorded a pair of caused turnovers in MU's first two games of the season (along with five ground balls at Detroit) and had a ground ball against Ohio State before leaving the game with an injury. The junior then missed MU's next three games (losses to Bellarmine, Robert Morris and Michigan) before returning for the BIG EAST-opening win over Georgetown. Richard has notched at least four ground balls in the six games since returning from injury, picking up a career-high eight on April 7 at St. John's and April 20 at No. 3 Duke. He led MU with 24 ground balls (4.8/game) and four caused turnovers in BIG EAST play with a pair of points.
FLEMING AND WAGNER CAP STUNNING RALLY VS. PC
- Marquette scored the last five goals in the April 14 overtime victory over Providence in the final 1:51 of game play after trailing by four, 11-7, with under two minutes left in regulation. Freshman Griffin Fleming capped the furious fourth quarter rally with the tying goal as time expired after three quick MU strikes pulled MU within one. The Friars won the final face-off of regulation and attempted to kill the remaining seconds before freshman midfielder Evan McGreen flung the ball into the air towards the middle of the box. Marquette SSDM Luke Anderson grabbed the ball and quickly got it downfield to Fleming for the score.
- John Wagner scored three goals in the last two minutes of play after MU trailed 11-7 on Kevin McCordic's goal with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter. Wagner scored at the 1:37 and 36-second mark of the fourth before posting the OT winner just 14 seconds into the extra session.
MELILLO LEADS FACE-OFF UNIT
- Senior faceoff specialist Zachary Melillo 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. In the four games following a return from injury on March 31 against VU, he won at a 69.2 percent clip (63-of-91) against the Wildcats, St. John's, Notre Dame and Providence. He ranks 14th nationally with a winning percentage of 59.6 in 2018.
- He holds a career 55.6 percent mark at the dot in his MU career 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. He currently sits sixth in NCAA Division I among active face-off specialists with 560 career wins, including his time at NJIT as a freshman.
WAGNER COMES UP CLUTCH
- 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 27 goals and eight assists in 2018. The St. Davids, Ontario native has five game winners through MU's first 12 games, including overtime clinchers against then-No. 4/6 Ohio State (3/2), then-No. 16/18 Georgetown (3/24), St. John's (4/7) and Providence (4/14). 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.
