WLAX Concludes Regular Season at #10 Denver

FULL NOTES (PDF)

DENVER, Colo — The Marquette women's lacrosse team (8-8, 3-1 BIG EAST) will wrap up the regular season portion of its 2022 season this weekend as it travels to take on #10 Denver. The Golden Eagles will face the Pioneers (14-2, 4-0 BIG EAST) on Saturday, April 30, at 2 p.m. (CT). The game will be held at Peter Barton Stadium in Denver, Colorado, and will be streamed with links for live video and stats available at GoMarquette.com.

Marquette enters the weekend with an 8-8 overall mark and a 3-1 record in league play, still in contention for its first-ever league title. With a win over Denver on Saturday, MU will clinch a share of the BIG EAST regular season championship. Most recently, the Golden Eagles picked up a crucial 14-12 win over Georgetown at home on April 24 to close out their home slate with a Senior Day victory.

This trip out west will be an extended one for Marquette, who will remain in the Mile High City for the BIG EAST Tournament, which will take place May 5-7 at Peter Barton Stadium. Each of the four seeding possibilities are still in play for MU, which will be joined by Denver, UConn and Georgetown.

All-time, the Golden Eagles and the Pioneers have faced off six times, Denver winning each matchup. The teams played twice in Milwaukee last season, Denver winning 16-6 on April 16 before taking a 12-11 overtime thriller.

The Pioneers enter the weekend with a 14-2 record on the year, while going 4-0 in league play. Most recently, they suffered a 12-10 home loss to Colorado on Wednesday. Denver has been led this season by graduate attacker Bea Behrins, who has totaled 71 points on a league-leading 53 goals to go along with 18 assists. The Pioneers are coached by Liza Kelly, in her 16th year at the head of the program.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

• Denver enters Sunday's contest with a 14-2 mark on the season and a 4-0 record in conference play to sit atop the league standings. It is ranked No. 10 in the most recent IWLCA Coaches Poll.

• The Pioneers were riding an eight-game winning streak before falling on Wednesday to in-state rival Colorado 12-10.

• Both of DU's losses have come at home this season, where it is 6-2.

• Graduate attacker Bea Behrins has led the Denver offense while totaling 71 points on a league-leading 53 goals to go along with 18 assists. Freshman attacker Lauren Black has come up big as well, posting 40 goals and 12 assists.

• In the net, freshman goalkeeper Emelia Bohl has started all 16 contests. She holds an 8.20 GAA, making 81 saves on the year.

• The Pioneers lead the nation in caused turnovers per game with 13.31. Their defense has allowed just 8.12 goals per game, sixth in the NCAA.

SERIES HISTORY VS DENVER

• Saturday's matchup will be the seventh all-time between MU and Denver.

• The Pioneers are undefeated in the series, holding a 6-0 advantage.

• The Golden Eagles and the Pioneers met twice last season in Milwaukee. Then #19 Denver came away with a 16-6 win on April 16, before winning a 12-11 overtime contest on April 18.

Last 5 Meetings

DATE LOCATION RESULT SCORE

4/18/21 H L 11-12 (OT)

4/16/21 H L 6-16

4/19/19 A L 11-21

4/18/18 H L 11-17

4/8/17 A L 12-18

LAST TIME OUT

• Marquette picked up a crucial league win over Georgetown on April 24 to clinch its spot in the BIG EAST Tournament with a 14-12 victory on Senior Day at Valley Fields.

• The Golden Eagles got on top early with a 5-1 lead early in the second quarter, before the Hoyas responded with five unanswered goals to take the lead. After a closely-contested second and third quarter, MU scored four goals in a 4:53 span in the fourth quarter to break a 9-9 tie and pull away for the win.

• Kyra LaMotte led the squad with four goals in the contest, while Lydia Foust tallied three to record her fifth hat trick of the year.

• Amanda Rumsey made 10 saves, her fourth outing with double-digit saves in the past five contests.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

• Entering the final contest of the regular season, there is plenty at stake for the Golden Eagles to play for.

• Sitting at 3-1 in league play, Marquette can clinch a share of its first-ever BIG EAST regular season title with a win on Saturday.

• With a trip to its third-ever BIG EAST Tournament already clinched, Marquette's seeding for the tournament is still up in the air. Each of the four seedings are still in play for MU.

• If there is a tie atop the league standings, a variety of tiebreaker protocols will be followed to determine the seedings.

RECORD WATCH

• With at least two games remaining this season for Marquette, several players continue to move up career leaderboards and approach all-time season marks.

• Mary Schumar is nearing a pair of major program records. She currently sits just three points from hitting the single-season points record of 67, set by Grace Gabriel and Riley Hill.

• Schumar also sits just two assists away from the program's single-season record of 43, set by Cate Soccodato.

• With 10 free position goals this year, Shea Garcia is just one away from the single-season mark. She also ranks second all-time with 25 in her career.

TOURNAMENT TIME

• Marquette's trip to Denver will be an extended one, as they will stay in the Mile High City following the regular season finale for the BIG EAST Tournament.

• The tournament, which will take place at Denver's Peter Barton Stadium, begins with semifinal games on Thursday, May 5. The title game will be held on Saturday, May 7, and will be broadcast on FS2.

• The Golden Eagles have already punched their ticket to the tournament, their third postseason appearance since the start of the program 10 years ago.

• MU's previous BIG EAST Tournament appearances came in 2018 and 2019, both losses in the semifinal round.

LAMOTTE NAMED TO WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

• Following a 1-1 outing for Marquette last week, graduate attacker Kyra LaMotte was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.

• The Winnetka, Illinois native totaled six points on the week as she helped MU to a 14-12 win over Georgetown following a loss to No. 18 Notre Dame.

• Against the Hoyas, LaMotte led all MU players with four goals in the contest. She also had one goal and an assist vs Notre Dame.

• This is LaMotte's second weekly honor of the year from the league.

MAKING PROGRAM HISTORY

• The Golden Eagles are having one of the top offensive seasons in program history, while chasing all-time marks in several statistical categories.

• Averaging 14.75 goals per game, this year's team sits just behind the program's all-time best of 14.80 set in 2020.

• Marquette's eight wins this are third in program history. It won nine games in 2019 and 10 in 2018.

• Averaging 6.56 assists per game, it currently ranks third all-time.

• MU has already set single-season program records for free position goals (47) and draw controls (283).