WLAX Hosts No. 19 Denver on Senior Weekend

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette women's lacrosse team resumes BIG EAST action on Friday, April 16 and Sunday, April 18 against No. 19 Denver at Valley Fields. Friday's game is set for 3 p.m. central time with Sunday's game starting at 1.

The Golden Eagles (5-7, 2-4 BIG EAST) won their first ever game on the road at Georgetown on Friday, breaking a streak that saw them lose two-straight one-goal games in D.C. Megan Menzuber scored five or her six goals in the second half as MU outscored the Hoyas 7-1 in the final 30 minutes.

With four conference games to play, MU is in fifth place and on the outside looking in to the BIG EAST tournament. The top four teams in the league will make the tournament, which will take place in Washington, D.C.

Denver comes to town on an eight-game winning streak since losing its season-opener to Colorado. A win over DU would mark MU's first ever over the Pioneers.

If they're going to get the job done, senior attackers Caroline Steller (42 points) and Megan Menzuber (40) will have a big say.

The Golden Eagles have nine players who've reached double digits in points and 13 who have contributed to the points tally in 2021. As a team, MU ranks third in the BIG EAST with 153 goals through 12 games in 2021.

Sophia Leva (5-6, 11.48 GAA, .483 SV%) has played the lionshare of minutes in goal this year and ranks No. 3 in the BIG EAST in save percentage.

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

GAME 1 DETAILS
Marquette (5-7, 2-4 BIG EAST) vs. No. 19 Denver (8-1, 6-0 BIG EAST)
Valley Fields
Friday, April 16
3 p.m. CT
GoMarquette.com

GAME 2 DETAILS
Marquette (5-8, 2-5 BIG EAST) vs. No. 19 Denver (9-1, 7-0 BIG EAST)
Valley Fields
Sunday, April 18
1 p.m. CT
GoMarquette.com

MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles are in their ninth season in program history in 2020 under head coach Meredith Black. MU is 55-88 (24-26 BIG EAST) all-time.

So far in 2021, MU has started the season 5-7 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 March 26 (14-13) and 28 (18-13) in addition to a 19-15 loss at Villanova for its fourth straight loss.

The Golden Eagles bounced back with an 8-7 win to stop the skid on March 28 against the Wildcats. They followed that up with a huge road win at Georgetown (15-9) before falling to the Hoyas in the series finale, 20-10.

Senior attackers Caroline Steller (33 goals, nine assists) and Megan Menzuber (30 goals, 10 assists) have paced the offensive attack so far in 2021, leading the team and ranking in the top 10 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. 2 all-time in goals (117) and No. 3 in points (163). Steller ranks number eight in goals (73) and number six in assists (30).

Junior midfielder Emily Cooper has been one of the most productive players in the BIG EAST on the draw, collecting 75 on the season, which puts her in the top five in the conference and top-50 nationally.

A breakout season from senior goalie Sophia Leva (95 saves, .483 save percentage) has her as a mid-season candidate for All-BIG EAST honors.

DENVER: Liza Kelly has a 188-72 record in her 15 seasons as DU's head coach. Six different Pioneers are in double-digits in goals through the first nine games of the season. Behrins is leading the way with 28, Eliza Radochonski is second with 20, Julia Gilbert has 16, Caroline Wiseman has 14, Hannah Liddy has chipped in 11 and Kailey Conry has added 10.

For the second straight year, Molly Little was named to the Tewaaraton Watch List. The grad student defender has 27 goals, 17 assists, 186 DC's, 79 GB's and 62 CT's in 56 career games.

DU is second in the country in caused turnovers per game at 13.44, eighth in scoring defense (8.67) and 12th in scoring margin (6.0).

In a match-up of two teams that entered the weekend 4-0 in the BIG EAST standings, Denver swept UConn by scores of 14-13 (3OT) and 11-7 in Storrs, Ct., last weekend.

KEY STORYLINES:

The Golden Eagles are 0-4 all-time against Denver, including an 0-1 record at Valley Fields.
In MU's last home game against DU in 2018, it fell 17-11. In 2019, Denver won 21-11 at home. Megan Menzuber tallied a hat trick in that game while Shea Garcia had two goals and Madison Kane had one.
The Pioneers have won the four games in the series by an average of seven goals per game.
MU will be honoring its 15 seniors during a pre-game ceremony on Sunday afternoon at Valley Fields. Eight seniors are regular starters in the lineup while 10 are a part of the regular rotation.
MU's last game on senior night was against Georgetown in 2019, when it defeated the then-No. 24 Hoyas 14-12 for its first win over a ranked team in school history.
Megan Menzuber is six points away from No. 2 all-time in school history (163 points). She would be the second player in school history to record 170 points if she gets seven more points to pass Claire Costanza (169).

LAST TIME OUT
• The Marquette women's lacrosse team went 1-1 in a two-game swing at Georgetown on April 9 and 11. MU won 15-9 at GT on Friday and fell 20-10 on Sunday. It's win Friday was its first ever road victory against the Hoyas.
• The Golden Eagles were led on Friday by redshirt senior Megan Menzuber, who netted five of her six goals in the second half to pace the offense. Lindsey Hill tallied her first career hat trick while Lydia Foust had a three-goal game as well. Sophia Leva tied a career-high with 15 saves in net. MU fought back from a 7-3 deficit and outscored GT 7-1 in the second half.
• On Sunday the Golden Eagles (5-7, 2-4 BIG EAST) were led by senior attacker Caroline Steller, who scored five goals. Shea Garcia netted a pair while three other Golden Eagles added one apiece. Sophia Leva saved 10 shots in net.
• MU trailed 9-7 at the half but was outscored 11-3 in the final 30 minutes of action. It had a season-worst 20 turnovers in the loss.

15 SENIORS TO BE HONORED ON SENIOR DAY SUNDAY
• The Golden Eagles will honor 15 seniors before Sunday afternoon's game against Denver.
• Four super-seniors (Bridget Danko, Erin Dowdle, Jules Horning and Megan Menzuber) will be honored after coming back for their fifth years. These four combined to play in 207 games during their careers. Dowdle ranks in the top-10 all
• Dowdle ranks in the top-10 all-time at MU in draw controls, ground balls and caused turnovers while Horning is the all-time saves leader and Menzuber is the second all-time leading points getter.
• 11 true seniors will be honored on Sunday as well. Attacker Caroline Steller had led the team in points in each of the last two seasons while Lindsey Hill leads the team in assists this season. Midfielder Madison Kane has been a regular starter in the lineup during the past three seasons and ranks in the top-10 all-time in assists.
• Goalie Sophia Leva will leave MU as one of its top goalies of all-time. She will leave as the save percentage record holder in addition to placing No. 3 all-time in saves.
• Midfielder Emily Cooper is one of the most accomplish draw specialists in program history. She ranks No. 3 all-time in DC's (165) and is just 18 away from passing Allison Lane at No. 2.
• Fellow midfielder Caroline Peterson has totaled 31 career points while defender Jocelyn Miller is a top-10 all-time defender in terms of caused turnovers and ground balls.
• Mary Dooley, Claire Hamilton, Nia Polk and Brynn Sunderland have combined to appear in 44 games at MU. Polk was the first ever Wisconsin native to be recruited and play for Marquette.

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.
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GOLDEN EAGLES MOVING THEIR WAY UP THE RECORD BOOKS
• Megan Menzuber is No. 3 all-time in points (163), No. 2 all-time in goals (117) and No. 5 in assists (46). Zubes is six points away from catching Claire Costanza (169) for No. 2 all-time.
• Shea Garcia ranks 10th all-time at MU in goals scored (62) and ninth in shots (139) and shots on goal (113). She ranks 10th in assists (22).
• Caroline Steller (30) Madison Kane (26) moved into sixth and eighth place all-time in career assists at Marquette.
• Steller now ranks 8th all-time at MU with 73 goals. Her 103 points rank her 10th all-time at MU and she became the 11th Golden Eagle to reach the 100-career point mark.
• Jocelyn Miller is in seventh all-time in caused turnovers (57) and 10th in ground balls (87).
• Erin Dowdle is No. 4 all-time in DC's (113), No. 8 in CT (53) and No. 11 in GB's (83).
• Emily Cooper is No. 3 all-time in draw controls at MU (165). She's 18 behind Allison Lane at No. 2 all-time.
• Jules Horning (443 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. 1 in save percentage (.458), No. 3 all-time in saves (208), No. 4 in saves per game (4.72) and No. 2 in goals against average (11.41).

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 42 points (33G, 9A) and ranks in the top-10 in the BIG EAST in four different offensive statistical categories. She scored 10 goals in two games two weeks ago against UConn. She also had six goals in a two-game span at Georgetown.
• She was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (March 22) for her performances against the Huskies.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
• Marquette is 18-8 in its last 26 games at Valley Fields, including a 4-1 record in 2020 and a 2-3 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.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• The Golden Eagles will travel to Butler for the final games of their regular season on Friday, April 23 and Sunday, April 25.

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).