WLAX Set to Begin 2020 Season at No. 7/7 Notre Dame

Photo by: Maggie Bean

WLAX Set to Begin 2020 Season at No. 7/7 Notre Dame

2/6/2020 11:19:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

ACC Network Extra Live Stats 2020 Schedule Game Notes (PDF)

MU head coach Meredith Black begins her eighth season at MU

By: Communications

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's lacrosse team opens its 2020 season at No. 7/7 Notre Dame on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m. Central time.

"We're really excited to be headed back to Notre Dame," MU head coach Meredith Black said. "They're top-10 team with a ton of returning talent, so it's going to be a great challenge for us. Playing top competition like Notre Dame will only make us stronger and help us see the things we need to improve on as our team continues to grow."

The game will air live on ACC Network Extra, accessible through the ESPN App and Watch ESPN (subscription). Live statistics will be available as will updates through @MarquetteWLAX on Twitter.

Sunday's game at Notre Dame will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams. They also met to open the 2019 season at Valley Fields, with the Irish taking home a 19-4 victory.

GAME DETAILS
Marquette (0-0) at No. 7/7 Notre Dame (0-0)
Loftus Sports Center
Sunday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m. CT
ACC Network Extra (Subscription)

LIVE COVERAGE
LIVE VIDEO | STATS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles begin their eighth season in program history in 2020 under head coach Meredith Black. MU is 44-77 (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 will be 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. 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.

NOTRE DAME: Led by ninth-year head coach Christine Halfpenny, the Irish head into the 2020 season with hopes at a national title run. The Irish went to the NCAA tournament in 2019 after going a program-best 5-2 in ACC play. Notre Dame finished the 2019 campaign with a 14-5 mark, with the 14 victories tying the 2016 Irish squad for the third-most in a single season in program history. UND, which missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven years in 2018, fell in the Round of 16 last season.

Halfpenny's team returns star players Andie Aldave, Maddie Howe and Savannah Buchanan this season, who were each named Preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse last week. In 2019, Aldave broke her own single-season program record with 152 draw controls in 2019 en route to being named a First Team IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse All-American. She scored a career-high 47 goals.

Howe led the Irish with a career-best 59 goals and 78 points last season on her way to IWLCA Second Team All-American and First Team All-ACC honors. A Second Team All-ACC honoree, Buchanan racked up 71 draw controls, 34 points (16G, 18A), 37 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers in 2019.

KEY STORYLINES:

Sunday's game marks the 122nd contest in the history of Marquette women's lacrosse, which played its first games in the spring of 2013.
Head coach Meredith Black is looking for her program's first win against Notre Dame, where she played from 2001-04. She was a First Team All-American in 2004 and was UND's first player nominated for the Tewaaraton Award, honoring the nation's top player.
MU is 0-7 all-time in season openers.
MU must replace 57 percent of its scoring (138-of-242) from 2019.
The Golden Eagles last defeated a ranked team on April 27, 2019 when they beat No. 24 Georgetown, 14-12, at Valley Fields.
Shea Garcia scored her first career goal last year against Notre Dame.
MU goalie Jules Horning has stopped 31-of-74 (41.9 percent) of the shots she's faced against Notre Dame in three games.
Megan Menzuber (32 goals), Shea Garcia (29), Caroline Steller (15) and Madison Kane (14) are the four returning Golden Eagles who scored double digit goals in 2019.
MU tallied assists on 103-of-242 goals (42.6 percent) last season and averaged 5.72 assists per game (37^th nationally).

SERIES HISTORY: Notre Dame leads 7-0

4/27/13                A L, 14-5
3/9/14 A                L, 12-5
3/25/15                H L, 18-8
3/28/16                H                L, 17-9
2/14/17 A     L, 21-9
2/28/18                A L, 15-10
2/8/19 H                L, 19-4

CAREER NUMBERS VERSUS ND:

Megan Menzuber: 3 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 5 SOG, 1 GB,
Shea Garcia: 1 GP, 1 G, 1 SOG
Logan Dobratz: 2 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 3 SOG, 1 GB
Jules Horning: 3 GP, 31 SV, 74 Shots

GOLDEN EAGLES SET TO COMPETE WITH YOUNG TEAM
• MU Head coach Meredith Black, who's been at the helm of the MU women's lacrosse program since its origin in 2012, will be tasked with replacing six starters, including four of the team's top five scorers from last season. "We're inexperienced as a group, but I love the energy, the passion and commitment that this team brings every day," Black said. "They've always wanted it, but this team wants it more than any team I've ever coached. They're all-in."

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.

FIVE PRESEASON TOP-25 TEAMS APPEAR ON MU'S 2020 SCHEDULE
• The Golden Eagles will be challenged early and often in their 2020 campaign. The IWLCA top-25 came out on Jan. 27, and five top-25 teams appear on MU's schedule.
• Notre Dame, its opponent to open the season, ranks as the No. 7 team in the country. MU will also take on No. 3 Northwestern, No. 10 Denver, No. 19 Georgetown and No. 25 High Point this season, with three of those games being played away from Valley Fields.
• Marquette hit a program-first last April after a 14-12 victory over No. 24 Georgetown, marking its first-ever triumph over a top-25 opponent.

MARQUETTE HAS A "JULE" IN NET
• The four-year starter and Berwyn, Pa., native ranks first all-time in MU history in wins (20) and saves per game (7.76) while placing second in saves (376).
• She's appeared in 49 games over the course of her career and has started in every single game the past two seasons (36). Jules is a three-time Academic All-BIG EAST selection and made the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team in 2018 for her stellar performance in net.
• In 2018, Horning set the single-season program record with 153 saves. She tallied a career-high 19 saves at Georgetown (April 21), facing 37 shots on the evening. She posted seven double-digit save performances in 18 games.
• Last season, her best game came against then No. 24-ranked Georgetown again. She faced a career-high 49 shots and saved 18 of them in a 14-12 victory at Valley Fields.

MU BY THE NUMBERS - BIG EAST AND NATIONALLY (2019)
• Points/Game: 19.17 (2nd/32nd)
• Goals/Game: 13.44 (2nd/37th)
• Assists/Game: 5.72 (4th/37th)
• Ground Balls/Game: 17.44 (3rd/-)
• Draw Controls/Game: 14.56 (1st/25th)
• Shots/Game: 31.33 (2nd/32nd)
• Shot Percentage: .429 (2nd/44th)

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.

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).