No. 19 Marquette hosts Bellarmine Saturday at Valley Fields

Saturday, February 9

Milwaukee, Wis.

11 a.m. CT

Marquette University

Bellarmine University

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No. 19 Marquette hosts Bellarmine Saturday at Valley Fields

2/7/2019 2:13:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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The Golden Eagles host Bellarmine on National Marquette Day at Valley Fields

By: Communications

MILWAUKEE – The No. 19/rv Marquette University men's lacrosse team begins the 2019 regular season on Saturday, Feb. 9 against Bellarmine at Valley Fields as part of National Marquette Day.

The contest features an 11 a.m. Central time face-off and will stream live on GoMarquette.com/watch with Patrick Reed on the call. Live statistics will also be available, while tickets for the game are $5 ($3 for 12-and-under) and can be purchased online, through the Marquette Ticket Office (414-288-4668) or on game day at the facility.

GAME DETAILS
No. 19/rv Marquette (0-0) vs. Bellarmine (0-0)
Valley Fields (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Saturday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m. CT
TICKETS

PROMOTIONS
National Marquette Day, Schedule Poster Giveaway, Alumni Weekend

LIVE COVERAGE
VIDEO | STATS | GAME NOTES (PDF) | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

MARQUETTE (0-0): The Golden Eagles begin their seventh season of competition looking to rebound from a 2018 campaign that saw them post their first losing record since 2014 at 6-8 overall. The squad, which returns nine of 10 starters, is led by All-BIG EAST Preseason Team selections John Wagner, Noah Richard and Nick Grill.

BELLARMINE (0-1): The Knights began the 2019 season with a 7-6 overtime loss to Wagner on Saturday, Feb. 2 despite getting out to an early 3-0 lead. Attackmen Morgan Macko and Landon Trout each scored a pair of goals in the contest, while Ian Reilly made 13 saves in net. Bellarmine is led by first-year head coach Jim Mitchell, who had previously served as an assistant at BU in 2013 and 2014, but most recently was the offensive coordinator at Rutgers.

KEY STORYLINES:

Saturday is National Marquette Day, a nation-wide celebration for MU alumni and fans. Following the lacrosse game, the No. 10 men's basketball team faces No. 14 Villanova at Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee at 1:30 p.m.
Marquette sophomore goalie John Hulsman is facing his former team. Hulsman was an All-Southern Conference First Team selection as a freshman last year at Bellarmine, while posting the No. 4 save percentage (.589) in NCAA Division I. He made 13 saves against Marquette last season as Bellarmine posted a 7-6 double overtime win in Pontiac, Michigan.
Bellarmine is one of six programs MU has played more than once to have a winning record against the Golden Eagles.
New for 2019, the NCAA has instituted the use of an 80-second shot clock upon player possession
Who replaces Cole Blazer in net for MU? A heated four-way competition this offseason to replace All-BIG EAST goalie Cole Blazer has impressed the MU coaches. Hulsman started two scrimmages, while junior Chris Rolfing, sophomore Gabe Stein and freshman Carver Skarnulis have impressed.
Who replaces Zachary Melillo at the face-off X? Junior Jared Hershman is the only FOGO on the MU roster with NCAA experience, but freshman Thomas Washington has taken a significant number of draws during the preseason.
Tanner Thomson returns from a 2018 season spent redshirting. He was an All-BIG EAST Second Team midfielder in 2017.
With Thomson joining the attack unit, how will MU's midfield shakeout? The Golden Eagles have a dozen experienced individuals from whom to choose.
Who joins Wagner and Thomson as the X attackman?
Since winning the first game in the series at Bellarmine, MU has dropped three of the last four games with the lone victory coming in 2016 at Valley Fields.
MU's last two losses to unranked BU squads have come with the Golden Eagles ranked (No. 13/12 (2015) and No. 18/19 (2018))

SERIES HISTORY: Bellarmine leads 3-2
MU is 1-1 in Milwaukee (1-0 at Valley Fields)
4/23/13                A                W, 9-8 (OT)
4/1/14 H (HP)       L, 10-7
3/30/15                A L, 9-3
2/20/16                H (VF)       W, 9-7
3/4/18 N     L, 7-6 (OT)

DEL DUCA, RICHARD AND WAGNER ARE CAPTAINS FOR 2019

Seniors Matt Del Duca, Noah Richard and John Wagner were selected as team captains for the 2019 campaign. Richard and Wagner also served as team captains last season, while Del Duca is a first-time captain.
Past Team Captains
2019: Matt Del Duca, Noah Richard, John Wagner
2018: Cole Blazer, Colin Riehl, Noah Richard, John Wagner
2017: Andy DeMichiei, Joe Dunn, Nicholas Eufrasio
2016: Matt Barone, Liam Byrnes Conor Gately, B.J. Grill, Henry Nelson, Jacob Richard, Kyle Whitlow
2015: Liam Byrnes, B.J. Grill, K.C. Kennedy, Jacob Richard, Travis Schelhorn, Kyle Whitlow
2014: Andrew Smistad
2013: Ben Dvorak, Matt Melnyk, Andrew Smistad

GOLDEN EAGLES PICKED SECOND IN BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

The projected finish of second is the highest preseason mark for the two-time conference tournament champions since they joined the league for the 2014 campaign. Marquette earned 18 points in the poll, ahead of Georgetown (17) and Villanova (15). Denver was selected as the unanimous preseason favorite.
Marquette's BIG EAST Preseason Projections (actual finish)
2019: Second
2018: Fourth (T-Second)
2017: Third (Fourth)
2016: Third (Second)
2015: Fourth (Third)
2014: Seventh (Second)

WAGNER, RICHARD AND GRILL ON ALL-BIG EAST PRESEASON TEAM

John Wagner, Noah Richard and Nick Grill each earned mention on the league's all-preseason team, marking the fourth time MU has had at least three preseason individual honorees. Both Wagner and Richard are unanimous selections as an attackman and long-stick midfielder, respectively.
Marquette's BIG EAST All-Preseason Team Selections
2019 (3): Nick Grill, Noah Richard, John Wagner
2018 (3): Cole Blazer, Nick Grill, Zachary Melillo
2017 (1): Ryan McNamara
2016 (4): Liam Byrnes, B.J. Grill, Conor Gately, Kyle Whitlow
2015 (3): B.J. Grill, Liam Byrnes, Kyle Whitlow
2014 (0): None

APRIL 26 DENVER SENIOR NIGHT GAME FEATURED ON FS1

The Friday, April 26 showdown with league favorite Denver at Valley Fields is scheduled for an 8 p.m. Central time faceoff on FS1. Marquette's BIG EAST opener at Georgetown will also air live on the BIG EAST Digital Network through FOX Sports Go. The remainder of MU's home contests this season can be viewed at GoMarquette.com/watch.

RICHARD THE BIG EAST'S TOP LSM

Senior Noah Richard was selected unanimously as the BIG EAST's top long-stick midfielder in 2018 and earned unanimous recognition on this year's All-BIG EAST Preseason Team. Richard tied for the team lead with 48 ground balls, marking the highest ground ball total in the BIG EAST for non-faceoff specialists. He averaged 5.7 ground balls per contest in the six games after returning from an early season injury last year, an absence in the lineup that coincided with a three-game losing skid for MU. Richard sits fifth in program history in career ground balls and sixth in caused turnovers.

WAGNER'S GOAL SCORING MATCHED BY ACADEMIC PROWESS

All-America candidate John Wagner has proven to be one of the most accomplished goal scorers in Marquette history, becoming just the fourth player to reach 30 goals in a single season last year. But his work in the classroom may be more impressive. The St. Davids, Ontario native is the reigning BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award winner for men's lacrosse and the first junior to win the award since 2010. He carries a 3.87 grade-point average in finance and private equity banking and is a member of Marquette's prestigious Applied Investment Management (AIM) Program. To participate in the program, Wagner was chosen by a panel of professionals to collectively manage over $2 million o MU's endowment across equity and fixed income securities.
He is a three-time member of the BIG EAST's All-Academic Team as well as a College of Business Dean's List and Athletic Director's Honor Roll designee. John has had the top GPA on the MU men's lacrosse roster for three semesters and is a national member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society.

SIBLINGS AND LEGACIES LINE THE MARQUETTE ROSTER

A constant with the Marquette roster since the first season in 2013 has been the presence of siblings and MU legacies. This season is no different, although the Thomson brothers (Keaton and Tanner) are the lone siblings currently on the roster. A number of other individuals have brothers who played for the Golden Eagles in past seasons.
They Include: Keaton and Tanner Thomson, Aaron Joseph (Noah, '17), Nick Grill (B.J., '15), Griffin Fleming (Blaine '16), Noah Richard (Jacob '16), Zach Granger (Ryan, '20).

TANNER THOMSON RETURNS FROM REDSHIRT

Fifth-year senior Tanner Thomson sat out the 2018 campaign and will see the field on attack for the first time since an All-BIG EAST Second Team year in 2017. Thomson was MU's returning scoring leader entering last season with 39 goals and 55 points in 38 career games. He tallied 20 goals and added 14 assists as a junior in 2017 and was an All-BIG EAST Championship Team selection in 2016. Thomson is also a top prospect for the National Lacrosse League.

NEW LACROSSE BUILDING SET TO OPEN

The new home of Marquette lacrosse, the Athletic and Human Performance Research Center on N. 12th and W. Wells streets is set to open in February. 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.

'ROMO' RETURNS TO MARQUETTE

After redshirting his freshman season at MU in 2015 before spending the last three years at Delaware, midfielder Andrew Romagnoli rejoined the Golden Eagles this past summer as a graduate transfer. Romagnoli posted 91 points on 60 goals and 31 assists in 34 career games with the Blue Hens in just over two seasons of competition. He scored 21 goals as a redshirt freshman in 2016 and set a single-game career-high with six goals against VMI while earning CAA All-Freshman Team honors. Romagnoli followed that up with a 34-goal, 53-point campaign in 2017 and posted seven points in five games as a redshirt junior last season. The 5-foot-11 attackman finished the 2017 season second in the CAA with 3.53 points per game and recorded seven hat tricks that year.

AMPLO WINS GOLD AT FIL WORLDS; HERSHMAN PLAYED FOR PUERTO RICO

Head coach Joe Amplo, serving as an assistant coach for Team USA, helped the Americans capture a gold medal at the 2018 FIL World Championships in Israel. Junior face-off specialist Jared Hershman also competed in the tournament with Puerto Rico, winning 67 percent of his draws (89-of-132).
Amplo was also selected to return to the U.S. coaching staff for the 2022 championship in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

FORMER WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS NOW DOT THE ROSTER

Four Golden Eagles played at least part of their high school careers in the state of Wisconsin and three of those are expected to see significant action in 2019. Moey Lardy became the first Wisconsin high school player to play for MU when he made his NCAA debut last season at Detroit. Lardy, whose parents now live in California, spent his first two years of high school at Cedarburg.
Former Wisconsin High School Players on MU:
- Quintin Arnett (Waukesha, Wis./Arrowhead H.S.)
- Logan Kreinz (Delafield, Wis./Kettle Moraine H.S./Portsmouth Abbey (R.I.)
- Moey Lardy (Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg H.S./Trinity-Pawling (N.Y.))
- Jordan Schmid (Waukesha, Wis./Kettle Moraine H.S.)