WLAX Travels East to Villanova

VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Marquette women's lacrosse team will head to Pennsylvania on Friday to take on Villanova in the team's third and fourth BIG EAST games of the season. Both teams will be looking for their first conference win of the season after dropping a pair of games last weekend.

The first game is set for Friday, March 26 at 11 a.m. central time with Sunday's game also starting at 11. Live stats and a live stream can be found on Villanova.com.

The Golden Eagles (3-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) have had a streaky season so far. They started by dropping the first two games, each by one goal, to Cincinnati and Central Michigan, before storming back to win three straight against Oregon (16-4), Kent State (19-8) and CMU (15-4). Once entering conference play, Marquette took two tough losses against UConn, losing 14-13 and 18-13 in the two games.

Although MU is characterized by a balanced offensive attack, seniors Caroline Steller and Megan Menzuber are leading the way with 29 points apiece, which ranks in the top five in the BIG EAST.

The Golden Eagles have eight players who've reached double digits in points and 13 who have contributed to the points tally in 2021. As a team, MU ranks second in the BIG EAST with 115 goals through eight games in 2021.

MU has split goaltending duties this year with Sophia Leva (3-4, 8.81 GAA, .549 SV%) and Jules Horning (0-1, 13.42 GAA, .211 SV%) each playing significant time this season.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
Live stats and streaming for the games can be found at Villanova.com. Follow along on Twitter @MarquetteWLAX for live in-game updates.

GAME 1 DETAILS
Marquette (3-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) at Villanova (2-6, 0-2 BIG EAST)
Villanova Stadium
Friday, March 26
11 a.m. CT
Villanova.com

GAME 2 DETAILS
Marquette (3-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) at Villanova (2-6, 0-2 BIG EAST)
Villanova Stadium
Sunday, March 28
11 a.m. CT
Villanova.com

MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles are in their ninth season in program history in 2020 under head coach Meredith Black. MU is 53-86 (19-27 BIG EAST) all-time.

So far in 2021, MU has started the season 3-5 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 on March 14, but the Golden Eagles fell, 14-10. MU dropped its first two BIG EAST games to UConn on Friday (14-13) and Sunday (18-13).

Senior attackers Caroline Steller (22 goals, seven assists) and Megan Menzuber (21 goals, eight assists) have paced the offensive attack so far in 2021, leading the team and ranking in the top four in the conference in goals and points per game.

One of the most productive players in school history, Megan Menzuber continues to move up the school record book. She ranks No. 3 all-time in goals (108) and No. 4 in points (152). Steller ranks number nine in goals (62) and number six in assists (28).

Junior midfielder Emily Cooper has been one of the most productive players in the BIG EAST on the draw, collecting 49 on the season, which puts her in the top five in the conference.

A breakout season from senior goalie Sophia Leva (59 saves, .484 save percentage) has her as an early season candidate for All-BIG EAST honors.

VILLANOVA: Julie Young enters her 10th season at the helm of Villanova women's lacrosse in 2021 after starting her career as head coach of the Wildcats in 2012.

In her eighth season as head coach, she helped lead the Wildcats to their first 10-win season in Villanova Women's Lacrosse program history. She concluded the year 10-8 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The Wildcats were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll behind only Georgetown and Denver.

VU had three preseason all-conference honorees, including Katie Comerford, who is Villanova's career point leader. Last season in eight games she recorded a team high 20 goals and dished out six assists for 26 points.

Junior midfielder Libby McKenna is having a breakout season with 19 goals and three assists to lead the team in points.

KEY STORYLINES:

The Golden Eagles have won three of the past four meetings against Villanova and are 2-0 all-time on the road against the Wildcats.
VU won the last meeting between the teams in Milwaukee (15-13) in 2019. The two teams did not meet last year.
Four of the seven games in the series have been decided by four goals or less.
Both teams started BIG EAST play 0-2, so this weekend's series could be crucial in terms of seeding for the conference tournament. The top four teams in the league of six will make the postseason, which begins on May 6.
Shea Garcia netted a hat trick in the 2019 meeting against Villanova while Megan Menzuber had two. They're the only two current Golden Eagles to tally points against the Wildcats.
MU's win against Detroit Mercy to end the 2020 season was its 50^th all-time as a program.
Megan Menzuber (152 points) became the fourth player all-time in program history to reach 150 points with her goal against Louisville on March 14.
Caroline Steller is just 10 points away from becoming the 11^th Golden Eagle to reach 100 career points.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Marquette women's lacrosse team dropped its first two BIG EAST games of the season against the UConn Huskies last weekend.
• MU fell 14-13 in the first game and 18-13 in the second game. Senior attacker Caroline Steller paced the offense on both days, scoring five goals in each game to tie her single-game career-high twice.
• Sophia Leva started in net in both games, saving 14 shots combined.
• Hannah Greving tallied a hat trick in the Friday game and seven Golden Eagles scored.
• Menzuber, Foust and Kane tallied two goals each in Sunday's defeat to UConn.

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.
game.

GOLDEN EAGLES MOVING THEIR WAY UP THE RECORD BOOKS
• Megan Menzuber is No. 4 all-time in points (152), No. 3 all-time in goals (108) and No. 5 in assists (44).
• Shea Garcia ranks 10th all-time at MU in goals scored (58) and shots (134) and ninth in shots on goal (108). She ranks 10th in assists (19).
• Caroline Steller (28) Madison Kane (24) moved into sixth and eighth place all-time in career assists at Marquette.
• Steller now ranks 9th all-time at MU with 62 goals. She moved up from 11th after netting 10 goals against UConn last weekend.
• 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 (140).
• Jules Horning (437 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 (135).
• Sophia Leva ranks No. 3 all-time in saves (170), No. 4 in saves per game (4.11) and No. 2 in goals against average (10.81).

LEVA IT ALONE
• Sophia Leva has emerged as one of the best goalies not only in the BIG EAST this year, but also in the country.
• So far in 2021, Leva is 3-4 and has a 10.93 GAA with 59 saves and a .484 SV%.
• She ranks No. 2 in the BIG EAST in GAA, save percentage and second in saves.

CAROLINE HAVING ANOTHER STELLER SEASON
• 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.
• 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 leads the team with 29 points (22G, 7A) and ranks in the top-10 in the BIG EAST in four different offensive statistical categories. She scored 10 goals in two games last weekend against UConn.
• She was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (March 22) for her performances against the Huskies.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• The Golden Eagles will travel to Georgetown on April 9 and 11 for a two-game series in Washington, D.C.

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).