WLAX Heads to Tempe to Play Sun Devils, Bulldogs

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Marquette women's lacrosse program is set to head west this week to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils and Fresno State Bulldogs in Tempe, Ariz., on Thursday and Saturday.

The game against ASU will take place at 1 p.m. Central time on Thursday, Feb. 27 before MU takes on the Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 1 p.m. CT.

MU has never previously played ASU and Fresno State. The games will both be live streamed on Arizona State's Pac-12.com channel.

The Golden Eagles are coming off a 2-0 weekend homestand against Canisius and Niagara.

Nine different Golden Eagles scored goals and six had multi-goal games on Friday against Canisius. Emily Cooper, Megan Menzuber and Lydia Foust each had hat tricks to lead the offensive attack.

On Sunday, Junior Caroline Peterson led the Golden Eagles with four goals while Caroline Steller, Lydia Foust and Hannah Greving each recorded hat tricks to pace MU's impressive offensive output.

The Golden Eagles scored the first eight goals of the game and refused to let up, extending their lead to as many as 14 and never letting Niagara get closer than seven goals the rest of the way.

Sophia Leva picked up two wins and saved 15 shots combined in the homestand. Hannah Greving was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for her seven-goal week.

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

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (3-2) at Arizona State (2-2); Marquette (3-2) vs. Fresno State (2-1)
Sun Devil Stadium
Tempe, Ariz.
Thursday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. CT and Saturday, Feb. 29 at 1 p.m. CT
Pac-12.comTheSunDevils.com

LIVE COVERAGE
LIVE VIDEO | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles enter their eighth season in program history in 2020 under head coach Meredith Black. MU is 47-79 (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 (3-2) have dropped road games at No. 7/7 Notre Dame and Louisville, but have found victory at home, with all three wins coming from Valley Fields against Cincinnati, Canisius, and Niagara. They've been jolted by a balanced scoring attack and boast seven players with between seven and 17 points.

ARIZONA STATE: Arizona State is led by first-year head coach Tim McCormack, who spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach at Northwestern. Last year, ASU went 6-12 (2-8 Pac-12) and lost in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.

So far in 2020, the Sun Devils are 2-2 with wins against UC Davis and Detroit Mercy and losses to Northwestern and SDSU. ASU returns two Second Team All-Pac-12 attackers in senior Kerri Clayton and junior Emily Glagolev.

Clayton has scored 93 goals over the past three seasons and Glagolev led the Pac-12 with 33 assists in 2019. Clayton leads ASU with 16 goals this year while Glagolev has eight goals and 13 assists. Carly Adams and Anna Winkeler have each scored seven goals.

FRESNO STATE: Fresno State is led by interim head coach Kara Concheck, a 2014 graduate of the school. She spent the past four years as an assistant at St. Francis College. The Bulldogs are 2-1 so far this season with wins over Winthrop and Stetson. Their lone loss is on the road at Furman.

FSU is led by sophomore Sydney Skalstad, the 2019 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Rookie of the Year. She also made the all-conference team after scoring 33 goals and dishing out seven assists. She leads the team with 15 goals this year and scored eight alone in a 21-13 win over Stetson.

Upperclassmen Kayla Galet and Megan Walaitis have combined for 18 goals this year while Lauren Kiszely leads the team with 12 assists.

KEY STORYLINES:

MU has never played Arizona State or Fresno State.
This is MU's first trip west of the Rocky Mountains since playing at California (Berkeley) in 2017.
The Golden Eagles are searching for their first win away from Valley Fields this season (0-2 in true road games).
Caroline Steller leads MU in points (17) and ranks in the top eight in the BIG EAST.
Emily Cooper ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in draw controls (32).
Megan Menzuber became the 10^th Golden Eagle in school history to hit the 100-point mark in her career. She did so with an assist against Niagara on Sunday.

MU BY THE NUMBERS - BIG EAST AND NATIONALLY (2020)
Points/Game: 18.20 (4th/48th)
Goals/Game: 12.00 (5th/61st)
Assists/Game: 6.20 (4th/34th)
Ground Balls/Game: 17.40 (4th/61st)
Draw Controls/Game: 16.60 (1st/13th)
Shots/Game: 31.20 (3rd/41st)
Shot Percentage: .385 (5th/83rd)

HANNAH GREVING WINS BIG EAST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
• Greving was the steady scorer for the Golden Eagles last week, going for a combined seven goals in a 2-1 week which included home wins over Canisius and Niagara.
• She scored her first two career goals at Louisville on Monday and two more against the Griffins on Friday before notching a hat trick against Niagara on Sunday.

CAROLINE OFF TO STELLER START TO 2020 SEASON
• Junior Caroline Steller enjoyed a solid sophomore season in which she scored 15 goals and dished out two assists. She played in all 18 games and started three.
• So far in 2020, Steller already has 17 points (8g, 9a), which leads the team. She ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in points so far this year and in the top five in assists.
• "Steller has really worked on building her connections with her teammates and they just love to play with her," Fifield said. "She's gotten a good amount of playing time in her first two years here and that experience should help her make an even bigger impact in year three."

K(C)ANE YOU FEEL IT?
• Junior midfielder Madison Kane finished 2019 as the team's seventh leading scorer with 14 goals and nine assists in 2019. She's the only returning midfielder with more than five career starts under her belt. Kane was also recognized by the BIG EAST as a preseason all-conference selection.
• This year, Kane is off to a strong start. She's scored four goals and ranks second on the team with eight assists.
• "We're expecting Madison to lead our midfield unit," Coach Fifield said. "She's our most experienced player coming back at the position and she's really grown in her confidence in the past year."

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 second on the team in goals with nine, six 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 seven 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).