MLAX faces No. RV/15 Jacksonville on Saturday in Florida

Game Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's lacrosse team travels south to take on Jacksonville University on Saturday at Rock Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.

Opening face-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. Central time and the game will be livestreamed on the Jacksonville Athletics YouTube page. Live statistics will be available on GoMarquette.com, courtesy of Jacksonville Athletics.

Marquette head coach Andrew Stimmel began his third season with a road win in triple overtime at Bellarmine on Feb. 12. MU is now 7-3 all-time in season openers and 8-2 in road openers, with wins in its last eight road lidlifters.

The Golden Eagles, who were picked fourth in the BIG EAST Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, will play their home opener in Milwaukee on Feb. 26 against Utah on National Marquette Day.

THE MATCHUP: Marquette leads the all-time series against Jacksonville, 4-3, but lost the last match-up against the Dolphins in 2020. The Golden Eagles are 3-2 in Jacksonville all-time and have won each of the last three road matchups.

The last meeting against JU came in Feb. of 2020 when then-freshman midfielder Chris Kirschner notched a hat trick, but MU fell 11-9 to the Dolphins. Only two goal-scorers from that game are on MU's active roster in Devon Cowan, and Kirschner.

Last five meetings:
3/6/15 (A)           W, 12-10
2/18/17 (A)         W, 17-1
2/17/18 (H)         W, 11-10
2/15/19 (A)         W, 14-12
2/15/20 (H)         L, 11-9

MARQUETTE (1-0): Attackman Bobby O'Grady made headlines for his performance against Bellarmine, scoring an MU-freshman record four goals, including a triple-OT winner. For his play, O'Grady received BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week honors. The Milton, Massachusetts native is the third MU player to record a hat trick in their debut – only the second freshman – and his four points are the third-most in a debut in program history.

Sophomore attackman Russell Melendez was also honored for his play with mention on the league's weekly honor roll. Melendez posted new career highs of six points and five assists against the Knights. The Severna Park, Maryland native provided helpers on five of MU's six assisted goals on Saturday including O'Grady's game winner.

Redshirt freshman goalie Michael Allieri also made his MU debut, recording 12 saves and allowing eight goals in over 69 minutes in net. Allieri was aided defensively by All-American Mason Woodward, who picked up five ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers in the win. Thomas Washington and Luke Williams each split time at the faceoff dot for the Golden Eagles with, Washington winning 7-of-9 draws, while Williams won 6-of-13.

No. RV/15 JACKSONVILLE (2-1): Head coach John Galloway and the Dolphins kicked off their season with an 11-8 road loss to then-No. 16 John Hopkins on Feb. 5. Since then, JU is 2-0 with a road win at No. 2 Duke, 14-12, on Feb. 13, and a nine-goal win over Mercer in Savannah, Georgia on Tuesday night. Attackman Max Waldbaum leads Jacksonville in points (17), goals (13), and is second on the team in assists (four) through three games. Waldbaum, a transfer from Tufts University, is coming off a career-high five goal game against Mercer. Goalie Luke Millican has faced a total of 72 shots this season over a span of three games, saving 41 shots while allowing 31 goals for a .569 save percentage in 170 minutes.

Keep up with the Marquette men's lacrosse program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteMLax) and Instagram (@MarquetteMLax) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMLax).