WLAX Concludes Regular Season at Butler

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette women's lacrosse team concludes its regular season at Butler (1-9, 0-8 BIG EAST) on Friday, April 23 and Sunday, April 25. Friday's game is set for 2 p.m. central time with Sunday's game starting at 11 a.m.

The Golden Eagles (5-9, 2-6 BIG EAST) are looking to bounce back from a three-game losing streak. After falling to No. 19 Denver 16-6 on Friday, MU put forth a valiant effort on Sunday before falling in double overtime, 12-11.

With two conference games to play, MU is in fifth place and on the outside looking in to the BIG EAST tournament. The Golden Eagles will need to beat Butler twice and get some help from the rest of the league to win the tiebreaker for the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament over Villanova. The BIG EAST tournament will take place in Washington, D.C. from May 6-8.

The Golden Eagles hope to keep their postseason hopes alive by taking down the Bulldogs. If they're going to get the job done, senior attackers Caroline Steller (46 points) and Megan Menzuber (45) will have a big say.

The Golden Eagles have 10 players who've reached double digits in points and 13 who have contributed to the points tally in 2021. As a team, MU uses a balanced attack and has seven players that have tallied 20+ points this season.

Sophia Leva (5-8, 11.87 GAA, .468 SV%) has played the lionshare of minutes in goal this year and leads the BIG EAST in saves (116).

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

GAME 1 DETAILS
Marquette (5-9, 2-6 BIG EAST) at Butler (1-9, 0-8 BIG EAST)
Varsity Field
Friday, April 23
2 p.m. CT
ButlerSports.com

GAME 2 DETAILS
Marquette (5-9, 2-6 BIG EAST) at Butler (1-9, 0-8 BIG EAST)
Varsity Field
Sunday, April 25
11 a.m. CT
ButlerSports.com

MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles are in their ninth season in program history in 2020 under head coach Meredith Black. MU is 55-90 (24-28 BIG EAST) all-time.

So far in 2021, MU has gone 5-9. The Golden Eagles started the season with 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. MU then dropped both games to Denver to fall to 5-9 (2-6 BIG EAST) on the year.

Senior attackers Caroline Steller (35 goals, 11 assists) and Megan Menzuber (33 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 (120) and No. 3 in points (168). Steller ranks number eight in goals (75) and number six in assists (32).

Junior midfielder Emily Cooper has been one of the most productive players in the BIG EAST on the draw, collecting 85 on the season, which puts her in the top three in the conference and top-50 nationally.

A breakout season from senior goalie Sophia Leva (116 saves, .468 save percentage) has her as a mid-season candidate for All-BIG EAST honors as she leads the league in saves.

BUTLER: Head Coach Cecil C. Pilson has been leading Butler since its 2016-17 inaugural season. In 2020, Pilson lead Butler to its most successful season, tallying a 5-2 record before competition was canceled on March 14, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In just seven games, the Bulldogs broke six single-game team records and two individual records. BU also won its first season opener in program history and set a season-best five wins.

In 2021, the Bulldogs have lost all eight league games and a non-conference game to Robert Morris. Their win came against Denison last week in non-conference play, a 12-9 victory.

BU is led by KK Callaghan and Lindsey Schreiber, who've scored a team-best 10 goals apiece. Campbell Connors and Kayla Kielbasa have also reached double digits in points with 10 apiece. This weekend, Butler will be trying to win its first conference games in program history (0-31).

KEY STORYLINES:

The Golden Eagles are 3-0 all-time against Butler, including a 1-0 record at Varsity Field. MU won its only game at Butler on April 4, 2018 by the score of 19-3.
MU has defeated Butler twice at Valley Fields, 16-3 in 2019 and 19-2 in 2017.
The Golden Eagles have seven current players who have scored against the Bulldogs in their past three meetings. Shea Garcia scored a hat trick in the 2019 meeting while Megan Menzuber, Caroline Steller, Caroline Blanford, Madison Kane and Lindsey Hill added one apiece.
Menzuber also scored in the 2018 meeting while Bridget Danko had a goal in the 2017 game.
Sitting at 2-6 in BIG EAST play, Marquette needs to win both games this weekend to have a chance at the fourth and final spot in the BIG EAST tournament.
In addition to winning both games, MU needs Denver to beat Villanova twice and for Georgetown to beat UConn at least once while outscoring the Huskies by at least five goals on the weekend.
If MU is able to qualify, it would be its third consecutive BIG EAST tournament appearance.
Megan Menzuber is one point away from the No. 2 all-time in school history (168 points). She would be the second player in school history to record 170 points if she gets two more points to pass Claire Costanza (169).

LAST TIME OUT
• The Marquette women's lacrosse team went 0-2 against No. 19 Denver this weekend at Valley Fields. During Friday's game, the two teams were neck-and-neck in the first 30 minutes and went into the break tied at five.
• The Pioneers erupted in the second half, scoring 11 straight goals before MU could answer. Denver took game one convincingly, 16-6.
• Sunday's first half was a carbon copy of Friday's game as the team's went into halftime tied at five again. The second half was led by Marquette, which scored the first four goals of the half to take a 9-5 lead. The Pioneers scored six straight to go up 11-9, but two Lindsey Hill goals, including one with four seconds left, tied the game and sent it into overtime.
• MU had multiple chances to win the game in overtime but couldn't convert. Denver eventually scored in the second overtime to take the 12-11 win.

15 SENIORS HONORED LAST SUNDAY VS. DENVER
• The Golden Eagles honored 15 seniors before Sunday afternoon's game against Denver.
• Four super-seniors (Bridget Danko, Erin Dowdle, Julianna Horning and Megan Menzuber) were honored after coming back for their fifth years. These four combined to play in 212 games during their careers.
• 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 third all-time leading points getter and ranks No. 2 all-time in goals (120).
• 11 true seniors were honored on Sunday as well. Attacker Caroline Steller has 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 (176) and is just seven 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.
game.

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 5-8 and has a 11.87 GAA with 116 saves and a .468 SV%.
• She ranks No. 5 in the BIG EAST in GAA third in save percentage and first in saves.
• Twice Leva has been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, including last week when she saved 25 shots in two games at Georgetown, including tying a career-high on Friday in a 15-9 win.

GOLDEN EAGLES MOVING THEIR WAY UP THE RECORD BOOKS
• Megan Menzuber is No. 3 all-time in points (168), No. 2 all-time in goals (120) and No. 5 in assists (46). Zubes is one point away from catching Claire Costanza (169) for No. 2 all-time.
• Shea Garcia ranks 10th all-time at MU in goals scored (65) and ninth in shots (147) and shots on goal (116). She ranks 10th in assists (23).
• Caroline Steller (32) 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 75 goals. Her 107 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 (58) and 11th in ground balls (87).
• Erin Dowdle is No. 4 all-time in DC's (117), No. 9 in CT (55) and No. 10 in GB's (88).
• Emily Cooper is No. 3 all-time in draw controls at MU (176). She's seven 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 (227), No. 4 in saves per game (4.72) and No. 2 in goals against average (11.87).

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 46 points (35G, 11A) 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.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• The Golden Eagles have a chance to play in the BIG EAST tournament on Thursday, May 6 in Washington, D.C., if they qualify this weekend. Their season will come to a close if they don't earn a bid to the conference tournament.

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).