Lacrosse faces No. 12/10 Notre Dame on Wednesday

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's lacrosse team heads to the University of Notre Dame for its annual midweek showdown with the No. 12/10 Fighting Irish on Wednesday, April 10 at 3 p.m. Central time.

The game at Arlotta Stadium will air live on the ACC Network Extra through the WatchESPN application.

Following Wednesday's matinee, the Golden Eagles will briefly return to Milwaukee before heading to Providence for an 11 a.m. CT contest on Saturday, April 13.

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (6-4) at Notre Dame (5-4)
Arlotta Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Wednesday, April 10 at 3 p.m. CT

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

MARQUETTE (6-4): The Golden Eagles claimed a 12-8 win over St. John's on Saturday afternoon at Valley Fields, led by six points from midfielder Tanner Thomson and a season-best 15 saves from goalie John Hulsman. Marquette was able to win 15-of-22 face-offs in the victory with 11 wins at the dot coming from freshman Thomas Washington. MU has won four of five games since an early-season three-game losing skid and faces its second ranked opponent of the season in Notre Dame. Thomson leads Marquette with 23 goals and 32 points, while John Wagner has 29 points on the season.

NOTRE DAME (5-4): The Fighting Irish enter Wednesday's game on the heels of a 14-8 loss to No. 6 Duke in North Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Notre Dame led 3-1 after the first quarter in Durham before the Blue Devils pulled away for the victory. Sophomore Connor Morin posted a career-high six points to pace the ND attack, which is averaging 11.67 goals per contest in 2019. Bryan Costabile and Brendan Gleason lead the Irish with 25 points on the year, while Morin is not far behind with 24. Notre Dame has faced six ranked foes already this season and has alternated wins and losses since a March 9 win against then-No. 8 Denver.

KEY STORYLINES:

Saturday's game marks the 102nd in the history of Marquette men's lacrosse, which played its first games in the spring of 2013. MU is 52-49 all-time entering Wednesday.
Marquette has never beaten Notre Dame, but three of the last four games have been decided by just one goal.
MU led last season's meeting in Milwaukee, 6-5, with under a minute remaining. ND scored goals with 42 and 15 seconds remaining to go ahead and pull out the 7-6 victory.
Wednesday's game is Marquette's fifth at Arlotta Stadium, where MU faced Notre Dame in the 2017 NCAA First Round, a 15-9 defeat.
The Irish are the third ranked opponent MU has faced this season. Marquette previously lost to then-No. 9 Ohio State on March 2 and defeated then-No. 14 Georgetown on March 23.
John Wagner currently has 69 career goals and 99 points. He would become just the third player in MU history to reach 100 career points and the fourth to reach 70 goals.
Wagner's 16 assists in 2019 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 is tied for Andy DeMichiei's 2017 total of 16 for the third-best single season mark.
Tanner Thomson became the fifth player in Marquette history to reach 60 career goals against St. John's on April 6. He joined Ryan McNamara (102), Conor Gately (77), Kyle Whitlow (70) and John Wagner (69) on the prestigious list. He currently has 62 in his career.
Thomson has scored in 16 of his last 17 games and has hat tricks in four of his last five since switching into the midfield from the attack.
SSDM Luke Anderson has scored eight of his nine goals this season in the last six games. He's posted tallies in five of the six contests and has three multi-goal games.
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: Notre Dame leads 7-0
ND leads 4-0 at Arlotta Stadium
4/2/13                  N             L, 17-5 (Wilmette, Ill.)
4/8/14 H             L, 12-7 (Uihlein Park)
4/7/15 A             L, 14-7
4/13/16                A             L, 8-7 (OT)
4/11/17                A             L, 11-10
5/14/17                A             L, 15-9 (NCAA tournament)
4/11/18                H             L, 7-6

CAREER VERSUS NOTRE DAME:

Luke Anderson: 1 GP, 1g, 2 gb
Brendon Connolly: 4 GP/1 GS, 1a, 9 gb, 1 ct
Nick Grill: 3 GP/3 GS, 5 gb. 3 ct
Noah Richard: 3 GP, 10 gb, 4 ct
Tanner Thomson: 3 GP/3 GS, 3g, 6a, 6 gb
John Wagner: 4 GP/3 GS, 7g, 1a,

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. 12 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. 13 Denver.

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 nine goals and posted three assists in the first 10 games of 2019. Those goal (9) and point (12) 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 fifth player in Marquette history to reach 60 career goals against St. John's on April 6. He joined Ryan McNamara (102), Conor Gately (77), Kyle Whitlow (70) and John Wagner (69) on the prestigious list. He currently has 62 in his career.
Entering the April 10 game against Notre Dame, Thomson (87 points) is two points shy of Tyler Melynk's 89 career points, which ranks fifth in MU history. He passed Melnyk on Saturday against St. John's to move into fifth all-time in goals (62 career goals).

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. He won 11-of-15 against St. John's on April 6.

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.
- Hulsman had a season-best 15 saves against St. John's on April 6 and posted a second-quarter shutout as MU won 12-8.

APRIL 26 NIGHT GAME AGAINST DENVER 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 also aired live on the BIG EAST Digital Network through FOX Sports Go.

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.