WLAX to Host Canisius and Niagara this Weekend

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette women's lacrosse program is set two compete in a two-game homestand this weekend at Valley Fields.

Canisius comes to town for a Friday matinee at 1 p.m. Central time before MU plays Niagara on Sunday at noon. All-time, MU is 1-0 against Canisius and 2-0 against Niagara.

MU took a road trip to Canisius and Niagara last season and came away with victories in both games. The Golden Eagles won 19-8 at Canisius and 16-12 at Niagara in a three-day stretch in March. Shea Garcia (three goals), Megan Menzuber (two goals) and Caroline Steller (two goals) had multi-goal games against Canisius while Jules Horning and Sophia Leva combined for six saves.

Against Niagara, Caroline Steller netted a pair of goals while Menzuber, Garcia, Caroline Peterson and Lydia Foust all got on the board as well.

Both games will be live streamed on GoMarquette.com. Friday's broadcast will be streamed through Marquette Athletic Communications. Student Chris Reisner will be on play-by-play while former MU women's lacrosse player Megan Bianco will be the color commentator.

Sunday's stream will be student-run from the Marquette Wire. Dan Avington will be on play-by-play and Tyler Peters will handle the color commentary.

Live stats for both games will also be available on GoMarquette.com. Follow along on Twitter @MarquetteWLAX for live in-game updates.

GAME DETAILS
Canisius (0-3) at Marquette (1-2); Niagara (0-2) at Marquette (1-2)
Valley Fields
Milwaukee, Wis.
Friday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. CT and Sunday, Feb. 23 at noon CT.
GoMarquette.com

LIVE COVERAGE
LIVE VIDEO | STATS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles enter their eighth season in program history in 2020 under head coach Meredith Black. MU is 45-79 (19-25 BIG EAST) all-time but is coming off its best season in school history in 2019. The Golden Eagles (9-9, 3-2 BIG EAST) finished second in the conference standings and hosted a BIG EAST tournament game at Valley Fields for the first time in program history.

Despite last year's success, Coach Black and company is tasked with replacing six starters, including four of the team's top five scorers from last season. Departed seniors Grace Gabriel, Cate Soccodato, Charlotte McGuire and Lindsey Willcocks combined to score 138 goals and dish out 65 assists in 2019.

MU's top returning scorer from the 2019 season is senior captain Megan Menzuber. The attacker from Chanhassen, Minn., scored 32 goals (third on the team) and dished out 12 assists last year and leads the team with six goals (all against UC) in 2020. She's joined by two-time All-BIG EAST defender Jocelyn Miller and a fourth-year starter in net (Jules Horning) as the team's most experienced players. 2019 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Shea Garcia was one of three Preseason All-BIG EAST selections for MU along with Miller and junior midfielder Madison Kane.

The Golden Eagles (1-2) have dropped road games at No. 7/7 Notre Dame and Louisville, but won their lone home game last Friday against Cincinnati.

CANISIUS: Canisius is led by third-year head coach Allison Daley, who played at the school and graduated in 2011. She was a three-time All-MAAC selection and an IWLCA All-Region pick in her senior year.

As a coach, she's led the program to two consecutive MAAC tournament appearances, including the league championship game in 2018. Canisius was 11-9 in her first year but fell to 3-15 last season. So far in 2020, the Golden Griffins are 0-3 but have lost two of their games by one goal each.

They're led by the Malvaso twins, Miranda (7 goals, assists) and Marissa (6 goals, 4 assists). Fellow sophomore Katie Smolensky is tied for the team lead with 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists).

SERIES HISTORY: Marquette leads 1-0

3/15/19 A W, 19-8

NIAGARA: Niagara is led by eighth-year head coach Wendy Stone. She's won 47 games in her first seven seasons. She's the only coach in program history to post winning records in three consecutive seasons since Niagara first fielded a varsity team in 1996.

The Purple Eagles are 0-2 so far this season, losing 17-12 to Boston University and Harvard on the road. They'll play Merrimack on Friday before heading west to Milwaukee. Jenna Brill leads the team with six points on five goals and one assist this season. Alina Del Torro (3 goals), Brenna Duffy (2 goals) and She Swartwout (2 goals) are the other multi-goal scorers this season.

Ashley Deveau and Michelle Messenger have split time in net this season, with Deveau getting the majority of the time. She holds a .381 save percentage and has stopped 16 shots this year.

KEY STORYLINES:

MU is 3-0 all-time combined against Canisius and Niagara.
The Golden Eagles are 13-4 in their last 17 games at Valley Fields.
Megan Menzuber and Shea Garcia rank second in the BIG EAST and first on the team with six goals.
Caroline Steller ranks in the top five in the conference in assists (four).
Emily Cooper leads the BIG EAST in draw controls (19).
Coach Black and the Golden Eagles will look to build momentum heading into next weekend's two-game road trip against Arizona State and Fresno State.

SERIES HISTORY: Marquette leads 2-0

3/3/18 H W, 23-15
3/17/19 A W, 16-12

CAREER NUMBERS VERSUS CANISIUS AND NIAGARA

Megan Menzuber: 3 GP, 4 G, 3 GB, 2 CT
Shea Garcia: 2 GP, 4 G, 5 SOG, 1 GB
Logan Dobratz: 1 GP, 1 G
Caroline Steller: 2 GP, 4 G, 5 SOG, 2 GB
Madison Kane: 2 GP, 1 G, 4 GB
Jules Horning: 3 GP, 1-0 record, 10 SV, 2 GB, 1 CT
Sophia Leva: 3 GP, 2-0 record, 13 SV, 3 GB, 1 CT

MU PICKED FOURTH, THREE NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST TEAM
• MU's projected finish of fourth is the second highest preseason mark for the Golden Eagles since they joined the league for the 2014 campaign (projected third before the 2019 season).
• Shea Garcia (attack), Madison Kane (midfield) and Jocelyn Miller (defense) were selected for the league's all-preseason team, marking the second consecutive year MU has had three players garner preseason All-BIG EAST honors.

HORNING, MENZUBER, VIVIANO NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS IN 2020
• "This year's captains were identified by their teammates at the end of last year and they've done a terrific job already," said head coach Meredith Black. "They're committed to improving, making their teammates better and doing whatever it takes to help the team achieve its goals."
• Horning, a senior goalie, is the only second-year captain among her peers.
• Menzuber is the team's leading returning points-getter from last year. Her breakout 2019 season saw her score 32 goals (third on the team) and dish out 12 assists (tied for second).
• A senior defender, Viviano redshirted last season after suffering an injury prior to the season. She's played in 30 games during the first three years of her collegiate career at MU, collecting 25 ground balls and causing 11 turnovers.

DOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
• Marquette is 13-4 in its last 17 games inside the Valley Fields dome in the past two seasons.
• Last year, MU went 4-3 at home, including a 14-12 win over then No. 24-ranked Georgetown to tally its first top-25 win in program history.
• The Golden Eagles shattered their previous record for home wins with an 8-1 campaign inside the dome in 2018. MU outscored their opponents at home, 151-105, with a scoring average of 16.78/game.

GARCIA RETURNS AS BIG EAST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
• A sophomore from Manhasset, N.Y., Garcia became the first Golden Eagle in program history to take home BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors last season.
• The attacker scored 29 goals to go along with eight assists. She also led the team (minimum 30 shots) with an .859 shots on goal percentage.
• She scored goals in 14 of the team's 18 games last season and tallied multiple goals eight different times. Garcia posted six hat tricks and one four-goal game in 2019.
• Garcia started off her 2020 season with two goals against Notre Dame, three against Cincinnati and one against UofL. She's tied for the team lead with six goals.

MENZUBER SET TO LEAD MU ON AND OFF THE FIELD
• "Zubes is one of a kind," Black said. "She's passionate and genuine in everything that she does. She's truly one of the best leaders I've ever been around. If we're having success as a team, something she does is always going to be a part of it."
• She's currently tied for the team lead in goals with six, all of which she scored on Feb. 14 against Cincinnati. Her performance tied a school record for most goals in a game in program history.
• Menzuber has also dished out two assists this year and ranks third on the team in that statistical category.

Keep up with the Marquette women's lacrosse program all season long through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteWLax) and Instagram (@MarquetteWLax) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteWLax).