WLAX Travels to New York for Pair of Games

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The Marquette women's lacrosse team (2-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) wraps up a six-game road trip this weekend with a pair of games in New York against Canisius and Niagara. The Golden Eagles will face the Golden Griffins (4-0, 0-0 MAAC) on Friday, March 4, at Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, New York, before taking on the Purple Eagles (2-2, 0-0 MAAC) on Sunday, March 6, at Niagara Field. Both games will be streamed, with links for live streams and stats available at GoMarquette.com.

Marquette is off to a 2-3 start to the year after picking up its first road win last Friday in a 22-9 decision against Detroit Mercy in what was the second-highest scoring output in program history. MU was picked fifth in this year's BIG EAST preseason coaches' poll after going 7-9 overall and 4-6 in conference play a season ago.

All-time, the Golden Eagles are 2-0 against Canisius and 3-0 against Niagara.

Canisius is undefeated so far in the 2022 campaign, winning each of its four contests to open the year. The Golden Griffins took down Bucknell, Robert Morris and Saint Francis on the road before winning their home opener over Pittsburgh 12-10 on Sunday. Junior midfielder Paige Stachura leads the team's offense with 15 points and 11 goals, while Shannon Maroney has played every minute in goal this season, and has a 10.25 goals against average.

Niagara has split its four contests this season, earning wins over Stetson and Youngstown State, and falling to No. 18 Jacksonville and Army. Sunday's contest will be the first at home for the Purple Eagles. They have been led by junior attacker Lois Garlow, who has team-best marks of 12 points and eight goals this season.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS

• Canisius is off to a perfect 4-0 start to the season after opening the 2022 campaign with wins over Bucknell, Robert Morris, Saint Francis and Pittsburgh.

• The Golden Griffins are coming off a 12-10 win over Pittsburgh in their home opener on Feb. 27.

• Canisius went 2-8 last season including a 2-7 mark in conference play. It finished seventh in the MAAC.

• Junior midfielder Paige Stachura and sophomore midfielder Caroline Netti have been the Golden Griffins' top goal scorers with 11 apiece. Stachura also leads the team in points with 15.

• Senior Shannon Maroney has been between the pipes the entirety of all four games and currently holds a .431 save percentage on 96 shots faced.

SERIES HISTORY VS CANISIUS

• Marquette and Canisius have faced off two times in a series that started in 2019.

• The Golden Eagles have won both games and are coming off an 18-11 win in the two squads' most recent meeting on Feb. 21, 2020.

SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES

• Niagara holds a 2-2 record to start the 2022 campaign after it tied for fourth in the MAAC last season at 8-5 and 7-4 in conference action.

• After dropping back-to-back games, the Purple Eagles earned a 15-10 victory over Youngstown State on Feb. 27.

• Junior attacked Luis Garlow has paced Niagara with eight goals and four assists. Junior midfielder Rachel Crane has supplied seven goals, and sophomore attacker Lexi Braniecki has notched six.

• The Purple Eagles currently rank last in the MAAC in goals per game (9.25), points per game (12), saves per game (7) and saves percentage (.337).

SERIES HISTORY VS NIAGARA

• MU and Niagara have squared off three times in a series that dates back to 2018.

• The Golden Eagles have swept the all-time series 3-0, with two of those wins coming in Milwaukee.

• Last time both teams met, Marquette earned a 16-6 win on Feb. 23, 2020.

• Over the course of the all-time series, MU holds an average win differential of 10.7 goals.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Golden Eagles used a dominant offensive performance to earn its first road win of the season, defeating Detroit Mercy 22-9 on Friday afternoon.

• MU came just one goal shy of tying the program's all-time single game scoring record.

• Shea Garcia had one of the best games of her career, totaling eight points on six goals and a pair of assists.

• After scoring 15 first-half goals and opening up a 10-goal lead early in the third quarter, much of the second half was played with a running clock.

• Nine different MU players scored, including the freshmen pair of Hanna Bodner and Elise Smigiel, who each found the first goals of their collegiate careers.

• Mary Schumar had a career-high five assists.

ATTACKER OF THE WEEK

• For her stellar performance in MU's 22-9 win over Detroit Mercy, Shea Garcia was recognized as the BIG EAST Attacker of the Week.

• Garcia totaled eight points on a career-high six goals and a pair of assists.

• All seven of her shots were on target, with six of them finding the back of the net.

• It took her less than half a quarter to record a hat trick as she helped propel Marquette to an excellent start.

YOU GET A GOAL, YOU GET A GOAL

• In MU's win over Cincinnati, nine different Golden Eagles found the back of the net, while two players (Smigiel and Bodner) scored the first of their college careers.

• This was the first time since March 4, 2020, that MU had three players each score four or more goals in the same contest.

• It was the first time since March 11, 2020, that MU had two players each score five or more goals in the same contest.

SCHUMAR'S STELLAR START

• Taking on a much larger workload this season, junior attacker Mary Schumar has stepped into a starting role and excelled early in the season.

• After totaling three assists in 15 appearances in 2021, Schumar already has 13 assists through just five contests this season.

• Entering the weekend, she ranks second nationally in total assists (13) and seventh in assists per contest (2.6). She is also fourth in the league in points per game (4.0).

• She is also has seven goals, just three shy of tying last year's total.

DRAW CONTROL DOMINATION

• Marquette has been one of the top draw control teams in not just the BIG EAST, but in the nation this season.

• Averaging 19.4 draw controls per game, the Golden Eagles currently rank fifth nationally.

• MU also ranks 25th in the NCAA with a .567 draw control percentage.

• Three different Marquette players rank in the league's top 10 in individual draw controls, led by Ellie Henry's 5.6 per contest.