Marquette Returns Home to Host No. 11 Northwestern

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's lacrosse team returns to the Valley after a seven-game road swing to take on No. 11 Northwestern on Saturday, March 23 at 7 p.m. Central time.

Following Saturday's contest, the Golden Eagles return to action as they open BIG EAST Conference against Villanova at Valley Fields on Saturday, March 30 at Noon CT.

MARQUETTE (6-5, 0-0 BIG EAST): Marquette dropped its first game in four contests, falling 16-7 at Central Michigan (3-5) on Thursday afternoon to end a seven-game road swing. Three Golden Eagles scored two goals each, including Grace Gabriel, Caroline Steller and Lindsey Willcocks. Jules Horning made 10 saves in the net for the Golden Eagles while Gabriel collected 10 draw controls.

NO. 11 NORTHWESTERN GAME DETAILS
Marquette Golden Eagles (6-5) vs. No. 11 Northwestern (5-3)
Saturday, March 23 at 7 p.m. CT
Valley Fields (Milwaukee, Wis.)

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NO. 11 NORTHWESTERN (5-3, 1-0 Big Ten): The Wildcats notched a win in their conference opener on March 14, marking nine days without a game before Saturday's matchup. Prior to the Big Ten lid lifter, Northwestern fell to a pair of top-3 opponents in No. 1 Boston College, 22-17, and No. 3 North Carolina, 21-11. The team is led by Selena Lasota with 27 goals while Brennan Dwyer has collected 62 draw controls.

SERIES HISTORY: Marquette and Northwestern have met each season dating back to 2014. The Wildcats own the series 5-0 and most recently defeated Marquette 20-9 at Valley Fields last year.

GABRIEL GETS RECOGNITION
Marquette senior midfielder Grace Gabriel was tabbed the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Last season, Gabriel became Marquette's all-time leader in goals, shots and draw controls.
She set program records with 56 goals and 107 draw controls as a junior and earned BIG EAST Co-Midfielder of the Year. The Lancaster, New York native was also picked as a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection in 2017 and 2018, alongside an IWLCA Second Team All- American selection.

GABRIEL ALL-TIME POINTS LEADER
Grace Gabriel became the Marquette women's lacrosse program's all-time points leader on Sunday, March 17 at Niagara. Her goal to begin the second half against the Purple Eagles propelled her past Claire Costanza's mark of 169 career points.

SOCCODATO HITS 100
Senior attack Cate Soccodato tallied six assists for six points on Friday, Feb. 15 against Cincinnati to propel her past the 100 career point mark. She's the eighth all-time Marquette women's lacrosse player to reach the feat. Current roster members Grace Gabriel and Charlotte McGuire also rank belong to the 100-point club.

CONTROLLING THE CIRCLE
Grace Gabriel set a single-game program record against Cincinnati with 17 draw controls, outdoing the entire Bearcats team total (16).

THIRD-EVER 2-2 START
The 2-2 start to the 2019 season is the third four-game even-record to begin the year for Marquette. Last year, the Golden Eagles went 2-2 before going on to a 10-8 overall record.

HITTING THE ROAD
Marquette's schedule also includes a month-long road swing spanning from Feb. 23 to March 21. The team will take on Kennesaw State and then opens March at Ohio State and High Point. The Golden Eagles then play Stetson, Canisius and Niagara during Marquette's spring break (March 10-17) before wrapping up the road swing in the Midwest at Central Michigan. Marquette also had a seven-game away stretch in 2017, where the team went 3-4. This year, the team went 4-3.