Lacrosse hosts St. John's Saturday for Senior Day

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's lacrosse team hosts St. John's on Saturday afternoon at Valley Fields with a special pregame ceremony recognizing its 13-player senior class.

Opening face-off is slated for noon Central time on the natural grass field, where capacity is 2,000 spectators. The contest will be played as the first game of a doubleheader with the MU women's team, which will face Butler at 4 p.m. Both games can be viewed live on GoMarquette.com/watch.

Tickets are good for both games and the first 250 students at the men's game will receive free ear buds. Saturday is also Teacher Appreciation Day, 'Spring Cleaning' and a Kids Club VIP event. Teachers will receive free admission with a valid school ID, while Goodwill will collect items as part of MU's 'Spring Cleaning' promotion.

Following Saturday's game, the Golden Eagles will play their next three games on the road, beginning with a Wednesday, April 10 matinee at No. 9 Notre Dame.

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (5-4) vs. St. John's (4-6)
Valley Fields (Milwaukee)
Saturday, April 6 at noon CT
TICKETS

LIVE COVERAGE

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

MARQUETTE (5-4): The Golden Eagles lost their first game since March 9 on Saturday at Villanova, 15-11. Marquette trailed by as many as six goals in the loss but rallied to pull within one late in the third quarter on Connor McClelland's second goal of the day. Saturday's defeat followed a three-game winning streak, which included a 9-8 victory over then-No. 14 Georgetown in MU's BIG EAST opener on March 23 in Washington, D.C. Tanner Thomson (26 points), John Wagner (25) and Andrew Romagnoli (21) are all over 20 points on the season for Marquette, which ranks second in the BIG EAST in goals per contest with 12.00 per game.

ST. JOHN'S (4-6): The Red Storm lost a heartbreaker to Stony Brook, 12-11, on Tuesday afternoon in Queens after having a chance to tie with seconds remaining. St. John's led 10-8 late in the third quarter before a four-goal run for the Seawolves put SBU ahead 12-10. Leading scorer Joe Madsen scored with 5:39 remaining to pull within one and had a shot ring off the crossbar as time expired while attempting to tie. Madsen and Declan Swartwood lead the Johnnies with 22 goals on the year, while Jonathan Huber and Mike Madsen also have reached the 20-goal threshold.

KEY STORYLINES:

Saturday's game marks the 101st in the history of Marquette men's lacrosse, which played its first games in the spring of 2013. MU is 51-49 all-time entering Saturday.
Both squads suffered three-game losing streaks during non-conference play and faced a mutual non-conference foe in Michigan (MU won 16-14, SJU lost 16-11).
Saturday marks the sixth time MU has played on the natural grass surface at Valley Fields. MU is 1-4 in its previous five games at the facility. The lone win was over St. John's, 17-9, in 2017.
Marquette has won the last five meetings with SJU after losing the first in 2013. MU is 2-0 all-time against the Red Storm in Wisconsin, including 1-0 marks at Hart Park (2015) and Valley Fields (2017).
Tanner Thomson came one goal shy of the MU single-game scoring record against SJU in the last meeting at Valley Fields in 2017 with six scores.
MU single game records set against St. John's: goals (7, Andy DeMichiei (2016)) and assists (5, Kyran Clarke (2015)).
Tanner Thomson became the sixth player in Marquette history to reach 50 career goals with his fourth of the day at RMU on March 12. He joined Ryan McNamara (102), Conor Gately (77), Kyle Whitlow (70), John Wagner (63) and Tyler Melnyk (59) on the prestigious list. He currently has 58.
John Wagner's 14 assists are a career-high and more than any Golden Eagle totaled during the entirety of the 2018 season. The single-season program record of 20 was set by Conor Gately as a freshman in 2013.
Wagner passed former teammate Kyle Whitlow (94 points) to move into third place in Marquette history with 95 career points following a three-point game at Villanova.
Eighteen players have scored a goal for Marquette and 11 have at least six points.
The Marquette program and head coach Joe Amplo captured their 50th victory all-time on March 16 against Michigan.

SERIES HISTORY: Marquette leads 5-1
MU leads 2-0 in Milwaukee
4/27/13 A             L, 15-10
4/6/14                   A             W, 11-10 (OT)
4/4/15                   H             W, 14-12
4/9/16                   A             W, 11-7
4/8/17                   H             W, 17-9
4/7/18                   A             W, 11-10 (OT)
CAREER VERSUS ST. JOHN'S:

Luke Anderson: 2 GP, 1g, 3 gb, 1 ct
Brendon Connolly: 3 GP/1 GS, 2 gb, 1 ct
Connor McClelland: 2 GP/1 GS, 2g, 1a, 1 gb, 1 ct
Anthony Orsini: 1 GP/1 GS, 1g, 1a
Noah Richard: 2 GP, 1g, 12 gb, 1 ct
Tanner Thomson: 2 GP/2 GS, 7g
John Wagner: 3 GP/2 GS, 4g, 2 gb
Jack Zerrillo: 2 GP/1 GS, 5g, 1a, 2 gb

GOLDEN EAGLES SET FOR TOUGH FINAL MONTH

A difficult schedule awaits the Golden Eagles over the final month of the season, beginning with the March 23 game at then-No. 14 Georgetown. MU's annual midweek contest at No. 9 Notre Dame on April 10 is sandwiched by games against St. John's and Providence before Marquette closes the year with No. 6 Duke and No. 10 Denver.

SENIORS TO BE HONORED ON SATURDAY

Marquette's 13 seniors will be honored on Saturday in a pregame ceremony prior to the contest against St. John's. The group helped MU to two NCAA tournament appearances and a pair of BIG EAST tournament titles in 2016 and 2017. The individuals have also earned 17 BIG EAST All-Academic Team selections and have accounted for 173 goals, 87 assists, 260 points, 368 ground balls and 133 caused turnovers.
The seniors are: Brendon Connolly, Matt Del Duca, Jackson Ehlert, Bob Pelton, Noah Richard, Andrew Romagnoli, Nick Singleton, Colin Strange, Tanner Thomson, Luke Vassos, John Wagner, Mikey Zadroga III, Jack Zerrillo.

ANDERSON STEPS UP IN JUNIOR SEASON

Defensive midfielder Luke Anderson has stepped up in a big way for the Golden Eagles on both ends of the field this season. The Lakeville, Minnesota native has been called one of the most athletic SSDMs in the country by head coach Joe Amplo and has shown his ability as a junior. In addition to being MU's top short stick D-mid, the 6-foot-3 210-pounder has scored eight goals and posted three assists in the first nine games of 2019. Those goal (8) and point (11) totals are the highest single-season marks ever for a defensive midfielder at MU. Both totals top the previous high of four goals and seven points recorded by current assistant coach Jacob Richard during the 2015 campaign.

TANNER THOMSON RETURNS FROM REDSHIRT

Fifth-year senior Tanner Thomson sat out the 2018 campaign after turning in an All-BIG EAST Second Team year in 2017 as a true junior. 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.
Thomson became the sixth Marquette player to reach 50 career goals with four markers at Robert Morris on March 12, while tying a career best with six points. He joined Ryan McNamara (102), Conor Gately (77), Kyle Whitlow (70), John Wagner (61) and Tyler Melnyk (59) among MU's 50-goal scorers.
Entering the April 6 game against St. John's, Thomson (58 career goals) is one goal shy of Tyler Melnyk for fifth in program history and eight points from Melynk's 89 career points.

FACE-OFF BY COMMITTEE

In replacing three-time All-BIG EAST face-off specialist Zachary Melillo this season the Golden Eagles have had to get creative over the season's first two months with Jared Hershman, Thomas Washington and Jack Devine all contributing.
- Jared Hershman started at the face-off dot against Bellarmine for MU and won 11-of-16 draws. Freshman Thomas Washington made his NCAA debut against BU and won all but one faceoff he took (8-of-9).
- Hershman set new Marquette single-game program records for face-off wins (22) and ground balls (21) in Saturday's 16-13 victory over Michigan. The junior went 22-of-27 against the Wolverines and 6-of-11 at Robert Morris, while also adding his first career point on an assist against Michigan. Overall, he won 28-of 38 (73.7 percent) of the draws he took in a 2-0 week.
- Freshman Jack Devine took 22 face-offs at Robert Morris on March 12 and won 10 of them. The offensive midfielder starting practicing with MU's face-off unit in early March.
- Washington returned from injury on March 23 at No. 14 Georgetown to win 10-of-17 draws on his way to BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors.

HULSMAN SECURES THE CREASE

All four Marquette net-minders have seen action this season with John Hulsman, Chris Rolfing and Gabe Stein all making their first career starts in Blue & Gold. Hulsman, who started the season opener, has reemerged as MU's top option following a BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week performance with 12 saves at No. 14 Georgetown on March 23.
- Every MU goalie played in the season opener, but sophomore John Hulsman started and played 37 minutes in net. Hulsman, who finished 2018 fourth in NCAA Division I in save percentage at Bellarmine, made six saves and allowed five goals.
- Junior Chris Rolfing made his first career start against Cleveland State and recorded nine first half saves. He also started at Robert Morris.

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 18 players have found the back of the net, and three others recording assists. Tanner Thomson and John Wagner have 26 and 25 points, respectively, to lead Marquette, but it has been the production of Marquette's defensive midfield that has been impressive early on. LSM Noah Richard (4g, 3a) along with defensive midfielders Luke Anderson (8g, 3a), Logan Kreinz (2g) and Nick Singleton (1a) have provided offensive contributions. Senior defenseman Jackson Ehlert (1g, 2a) also recorded the first points of his career in the season opener against Bellarmine.