MLAX looks to snap skid at Robert Morris

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's lacrosse team continues non-conference play against Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, March 12.

Face-off at Joe Walton Stadium is slated for noon Central time on NEC Front Row and live statistics will be available through RMUColonials.com.

Following Tuesday's matchup with the Colonials, Marquette returns home to welcome Michigan to Valley Fields on Saturday, March 16 at noon Central time before beginning BIG EAST Conference action the next weekend at Georgetown.

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (2-3) at Robert Morris (1-4)
Valley Fields (Milwaukee)
Tuesday, March 12 at noon CT

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

MARQUETTE (2-3): The Golden Eagles are below .500 at the five-game mark for just the third time in program history and the first since the 2014 squad started the year 1-4. MU has lost three-straight games since beginning the year 2-0 with wins over Bellarmine and at Jacksonville. Marquette dropped a 7-5 decision in its last game to Cleveland State on Saturday afternoon while playing without the services of several key players due to violations of team rules. Four Golden Eagles made their first career starts against the Vikings, including junior goalie Chris Rolfing, who made nine first half saves to keep MU within striking distance. John Wagner leads Marquette with 11 points (five goals, six assists) on the season, with Tanner Thomson not far behind with 10 (7 goals, 3 assists).

ROBERT MORRIS (1-4): The Colonials sit at 1-4 on the year, but three of their losses have come at the hands of ranked opponents. RMU began the year with a 27-10 setback at then-No. 9 Penn State and fell 14-11 to No. 17/16 Georgetown on Feb. 16 before picking up their first win 15-7 over Bellarmine. The Colonials fell 12-8 to Canisius in their last game on Saturday after spotting the Golden Griffins an early 3-0 lead. Tyson Gibson and Matt Schmidt have each posted a team-high 10 goals on the season for a squad that fires over 50 shots per contest. However, the Colonials have also given up 76 goals in their five games this season, the third-worst mark in NCAA Division I.

KEY STORYLINES:

Saturday marks the fourth regular season meeting between the two programs, with MU owning a 2-1 advantage.
MU topped RMU, 14-7, in its last trip to Joe Walton Stadium in 2017 as MU attackman and Pittsburgh-native Andy DeMichiei posted five points (3g, 2a).
In last year's meeting, playing without all-conference faceoff specialist Zachary Melillo and LSM Noah Richard, MU scored its second-lowest goal total in program history in a 12-2 loss at Valley Fields.
Four Golden Eagles make their first career starts in Saturday's loss to Cleveland State. Chris Rolfing made nine first half saves, while Mikey Zadroga III scored his first career goal, as did Garrett Moya, who was making his NCAA debut alongside Brendan Alt, Connor Campbell and Jack Devine.
MU has eight native Pennsylvanians on its roster, which is tied with California as the most from any state.
Defenseman Brendon Connolly and face-off specialist Thomas Washington are each vital parts of the MU rotation and have each missed two games due to injury. Connolly
Sixteen players have scored a goal for Marquette and seven have at least six points.
The Marquette program and head coach Joe Amplo are closing in on 50 victories all-time. The Golden Eagles are 48-48 in their seventh season of existence.

SERIES HISTORY: MU leads 2-1
Marquette leads 1-0 in Moon Township
3/12/16                H             W, 13-5
3/11/17                A             W, 14-7
3/10/18                H             L, 12-2 (Valley Fields dome)

CAREER VERSUS ROBERT MORRIS:

John Wagner: 2 GP-2 GS, 2g, 1a
Tanner Thomson: 2 GP-2 GS, 2g, 2a
Nick Grill: 2 GP-2 GS, 2 gb, 1 ct
Noah Richard: 1 GP, 1a, 2 gb
Brendon Connolly: 2 GP-1 GS, 3 gb, 2 ct

RICHARD AND WAGNER ARE SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATES

Noah Richard and John Wagner are among thirty of the top NCAA Division I men's lacrosse student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award^®, highlighting excellence both on and off the field. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
The pair joins B.J. Grill (2016) and Andy DeMichiei (2017) as Marquette men's lacrosse players to earn the recognition. Grill went on to earn Senior CLASS Award Senior All-American First Team honors in 2016 as one of five players named to the squad.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

NEW LACROSSE BUILDING OPENED MARCH 5

The new home of Marquette lacrosse, the Athletic and Human Performance Research Center on N. 12th and W. Wells streets officially opened on March 5. 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.

NOAH RICHARD DRAFTED IN MLL; JACOB RICHARD AND B.J. GRILL LEARN PLL TEAMS

Noah Richard became the second-highest drafted MU player in program history when the Chesapeake Bayhawks selected him in the MLL Draft on March 9 at 25th overall (third round). Richard is one of six MU players who has heard his name called in the MLL Collegiate Draft, joining his brother Jacob, who went 35th overall to the New York Lizards in 2016. Currently, Liam Byrnes (Atlanta Blaze), Ryan McNamara (Dallas Rattlers), Conor Gately (Dallas Rattlers), Zachary Melillo (Denver Outlaws) and Cole Blazer (Chesapeake Bayhawks) enter the 2019 season on MLL rosters.
On Monday, March 4 the Premier Lacrosse League officially unveiled its rosters for the 2019 season and the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft is slated for Saturday, March 9 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Marquette's Jacob Richard (Atlas LC) and B.J. Grill (Chrome LC) learned their PLL team assignments on Monday, as did volunteer assistant coach Tim Rotanz (Whipsnakes LC).

MU OFFENSE SHARING THE LOAD

Marquette has displayed depth on the offensive end as 16 players have found the back of the net, and four others recording assists. John Wagner has 11 points and Tanner Thomson 10, but it has been the production of Marquette's offensive midfield and rope unit that has been impressive early on. LSM Noah Richard (3g, 2a) along with defensive midfielders Luke Anderson (3g, 2a), Logan Kreinz (1g) and Nick Singleton (1a) have provided offensive contributions. Senior defensemen Jackson Ehlert (1g, 1a) also recorded the first points of his career in the season opener against Bellarmine.