WLAX Opens BIG EAST Play Against UConn

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette women's lacrosse team will look to bounce back from a hard-fought defeat against the No. 19 Louisville Cardinals when it begins BIG EAST play by welcoming UConn back to the conference with two games at Valley Fields.

The first game is set for Friday, March 19 at 4 p.m. Central time while Sunday's game will be a noon matinee at Valley Fields. GoMarquette.com will provide live stats and a live stream once again while Dan Avington (play-by-play) and Eric Simon (analyst) will be on the call.

The Golden Eagles (3-3) have taken multiple steps forward since dropping two one-goal games to open the season against Cincinnati and Central Michigan. They've beaten Oregon (16-4), Kent State (19-8) and got revenge against CMU (15-4) before falling against No. 19 ranked UofL.

Although MU is characterized by a balanced offensive attack, redshirt senior Megan Menzuber is having an all-time start to the season. She leads the team and the BIG EAST with 27 points (19 goals, eight assists) and became the first Golden Eagle in team history to register 25 points in the first five games of a season.

The Golden Eagles have five players who've reached double digits in points (Menzuber, Lydia Foust, Caroline Steller and Leigh Steiner) and 13 who have contributed to the points tally in 2021.

MU has split goaltending duties this year with Sophia Leva (3-2, 8.81 GAA, .549 SV%) and Jules Horning (0-1, 13.34 GAA, .226 SV%) each playing significant time this year.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
Live stats and streaming for Sunday's game can be found at GoMarquette.com. Follow along on Twitter @MarquetteWLAX for live in-game updates.

GAME 1 DETAILS
Marquette (3-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. UConn (4-2, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Valley Fields
Friday, March 19
4 p.m. CT
GoMarquette.com

GAME 2 DETAILS
Marquette (3-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. UConn (4-2, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Valley Fields
Sunday, March 21
Noon CT
GoMarquette.com

MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles are in their ninth season in program history in 2020 under head coach Meredith Black. MU is 53-84 (19-25 BIG EAST) all-time.

So far in 2021, MU has started the season 3-3 after two one-goal losses at Cincinnati (20-19) and Central Michigan (11-10) and three decisive wins over Oregon (16-4), Kent State (19-8) and Central Michigan (15-4). MU got its first crack at a top-25 team when No. 19 Louisville came to town last Sunday, but the Golden Eagles fell, 14-10.

11 of MU's top 12 scorers from last year are back this year, including 2020 leading point-getter Caroline Steller, who finished with 23 goals and a team-best 17 assists. Leading goal-scorer Lydia Foust, who broke out with 25 goals last season, returns for her junior year to anchor the midfield group. They have 19 and 20 points, respectively, in 2021.

One of the most productive players in school history, Megan Menzuber leads the offensive attack. She ranks No. 3 all-time in goals (106) and No. 4 in points (150). She leads the team in scoring this year (19 goals, eight assists) along with Foust (14 goals, six assists).

A breakout season from senior goalie Sophia Leva has her as an early season candidate for All-BIG EAST honors.

UConn: Katie Woods enters her 11th season as head coach at UConn in 2021. Woods' 93 wins and .552-win percentage at UConn both mark the highest in program history.

UConn is led by senior midfielder Sydney Watson, who leads the BIG EAST with 23 goals through six games. She ranks second in points (25). She was named to the 2021 Tewaaraton Award women's watch list last week.

Junior attacker Lia LaPrise leads the team and the BIG EAST with 13 assists in 2021. Kate Shaffer is the team's second-leading goal scorer with 15 goals this year. 15 different Huskies have reached the scoring column in 2021.

UConn lost its season opener to Hofstra before reeling off four straight wins, including a 12-11 overtime victory over then No. 22 UMass. The Huskies lost in overtime to UMass six days later in the return game of a home-and-home series. and 15 points. She also ranks second with nine goals and 12 draw controls after four games.

KEY STORYLINES:

The Golden Eagles have lost five of the six games in program history against UConn.
MU won the last meeting between the two teams in Milwaukee in 2018, taking a 15-14 victory over the Huskies. Megan Menzuber led the offensive charge in her sophomore year, scoring four goals.
MU trailed 14-9 and scored the last six goals of the game to stun the Huskies.
MU is 18-6 in its last 24 home games at Valley Fields.
The Golden Eagles are 4-3 all-time in BIG EAST openers.
Friday will be MU's first BIG EAST game since May 2, 2019 (687 days) in the BIG EAST tournament semis against Georgetown. It'll be their first BIG EAST home game since April 27, 2019 (692 days).
MU's win against Detroit Mercy to end the 2020 season was its 50^th all-time as a program.
Megan Menzuber (150 points) became the fourth player all-time in program history to reach 150 points with her goal against Louisville last Sunday.
Senior goalie Sophia Leva is off to a red-hot start to the season. In six games she's tallied 45 saves and holds a .549 save percentage. She's been named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll twice already this season, which is a team-high.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Marquette women's lacrosse team fell to its first ranked opponent of the year in No. 19 Louisville on Sunday. UofL defeated the Golden Eagles 14-10.
• Caroline Steller, Lydia Foust and Hannah Greving scored two goals each to pace the offensive attack while Megan Menzuber, Mary Schumar, Emma Soccodato and Leigh Steiner had one apiece. Steller led the way with four points on two goals and two assists.
• The Golden Eagles surrendered the first goal but answered with four straight goals to go up 4-1 in the first half. The Cardinals responded by scoring six of the games' next seven goals to take a 7-5 lead heading into halftime.
• MU cut the UofL lead to 8-7 at one point in the second half but couldn't get any closer as UofL went up by as many as five goals and the Golden Eagles failed to capitalize on their second half scoring chances.
• Senior goalie Sophia Leva (3-2) made her fifth start of the season and saved a career-best 15 shots. She leads the conference in save percentage (.549) through six games.

MU PICKED FIFTH IN BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL
• The BIG EAST Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll has 2019 regular-season champion Denver as the unanimous favorite to win the crown in 2021.
• DU was followed by 2019 champion Georgetown (21). Villanova landed in third with 15 points, while UConn was slotted fourth with 13 points. Marquette was tabbed fifth in the poll with 11 points, while Butler rounded out the list in sixth with five points.
• The Golden Eagles had two players named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, the third year in a row MU has had multiple players selected. This year's selections were junior midfielder Lydia Foust and senior defender Jocelyn Miller.

DOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
• Marquette is 18-6 in its last 24 games at Valley Fields, including a 4-1 record in 2020 and a 2-1 mark in 2021.
• In 2019, 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.

GOLDEN EAGLES MOVING THEIR WAY UP THE RECORD BOOKS
• Megan Menzuber is No. 4 all-time in points (150), No. 3 all-time in goals (106) and No. 5 in assists (44).
• Shea Garcia (57) ranks 10th all-time at MU in goals scored (57) and shots (133) and ninth in shots on goal (102).
• Caroline Steller (28) Madison Kane (22) moved into sixth and eighth place all-time in career assists at Marquette.
• Steller ranks 11th all-time at MU with 52 goals. She's five behind Garcia in the top-10.
• Jocelyn Miller is in eighth all-time in caused turnovers (53) and 10th in ground balls (81).
• Emily Cooper is No. 3 all-time in draw controls at MU (131).
• Jules Horning (436 career saves) overtook Sarah Priem '16 (426) for the school record.
• Jules Horning is in second place all-time at MU for career ground balls (134).
• Sophia Leva ranks No. 3 all-time in saves (156), No. 4 in saves per game (4.11) and No. 2 in goals against average (10.81).

CAROLINE OFF TO STELLER START IN 2021
• Caroline Steller enjoyed a solid sophomore season in 2019 in which she scored 15 goals and dished out two assists. She played in all 18 games and started three.
• She had a sensational 2020, breaking out to lead the team in points (40) and assists (17) while putting in 23 goals.
• Steller won BIG EAST Attacker of the Week on March 2 after scoring six goals, dishing out three assists and picking up four ground balls in two games in Arizona.
• So far in 2021, Steller ranks third on the team with 19 points (12G, 7A) and ranks in the top-10 in the BIG EAST in four different offensive statistical categories.

COOPER, MENZUBER AND LEVA RANKING AMONG NATIONS BEST
• Senior midfielder Emily Cooper ranks No. 23 nationally in draw controls per game (6.67).
• Redshirt senior Megan Menzuber ranks No. 16 nationally in points (27), No. 29 in points per game (4.50), No. 23 in goals (19) and No. 46 in goals per game (3.17).
• Senior goalie Sophia Leva ranks No. 11 nationally save percentage (.549) and No. 16 in goals against average (8.81 GAA).

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).