WLAX Faces Georgetown in BIG EAST Semifinals

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DENVER, Colo. — The Marquette women's lacrosse team (8-9, 3-2 BIG EAST) opens postseason play this week as it competes as the BIG EAST Tournament. The 2-seed Golden Eagles will face the 3-seed Georgetown Hoyas (8-8, 3-2 BIG EAST) in the semifinal round on Thursday, May 5, at 5 p.m. (CT). The tournament will take place at Denver's Peter Barton Stadium, with the championship match on Saturday, May 7. Thursday's game will be streamed on FloSports with Brad Thompson (play-by-play), Audrey Schreck (analyst) and Meghan Caffrey (sideline) on the call. Links for live video and stats are available at GoMarquette.com.

Marquette enters the tournament as the 2-seed, its highest seeding in program history. The Golden Eagles posted an 8-9 overall mark in the regular season, with a 3-2 record in league play. Most recently, MU fell in its regular season finale at No 10 Denver on April 30, suffering a 19-8 loss.

All-time, the Golden Eagles and the Hoyas have faced off 11 times, Georgetown holding an 8-3 advantage, though MU has won three of the past five meetings. The teams met up less than two weeks ago in Milwaukee, where Marquette earned a 14-12 senior day victory at Valley Fields. Kyra LaMotte led the Golden Eagles with four goals in that contest, while Lydia Foust tacked on three of her own to help Marquette pull away late.

The Hoyas enter the tournament as the 3-seed after posting an 8-8 record on the year, while going 3-2 in league play. Most recently, they took down UConn in a 22-12 decision at home home on Friday, April 29. Georgetown has been led this season by senior attacker Ali Diamond, who has totaled 54 points on 30 goals and 24 assists. Graduate midfielder Erin Bakes is the squad's scoring leader with 31 goals on the year. The Hoyas are coached by Ricky Fried, in his 18th year at the head of the program.

SCOUTING THE HOYAS

• Georgetown finished the regular season with an 8-8 mark and a 3-2 record in conference play to earn the 3-seed.

• The Hoyas' league wins came against Butler, Villanova, and most recently, a 22-12 home win over UConn on Friday, April 29.

• GU has been better on the road than at home this season with a 5-3 mark.

• Senior attacker Ali Diamond has led the Georgetown offense this season while totaling 54 points on 30 goals and 24 assists. Graduate midfielder Erin Bakes is the squad's scoring leader with 31 goals on the year.

• In the net, junior goalkeeper Emily Gaven has started all 16 contests. She holds a 11.25 GAA, making 123 saves on the year.

• The Hoyas lead the league and rank 17th nationally in both clearing percentage (.906) and draw control percentage (.550).

SERIES HISTORY VS GEORGETOWN

• Thursday's matchup will be the 12th all-time between MU and Georgetown.

• The Hoyas lead the series 8-3, though MU has won three of the past five meetings.

• MU and the Hoyas met twice last season in Washington, D.C. Marquette came away with a 15-9 win on April 9 before falling 20-10 on April 11.

Last 5 Meetings

DATE LOCATION RESULT SCORE

4/24/22 H W 14-12

4/11/21 A L 10-20

4/9/21 A W 15-9

5/2/19 H L 10-17

4/27/19 H W 14-12

LAST TIME OUT

• Marquette dropped its regular season finale, suffering a 19-8 loss at No. 10 Denver on Saturday, April 28.

• The Golden Eagles opened the game on a strong note, getting out to a 4-2 lead through the first quarter, but the Pioneers were able to gain momentum as they responded with five-consecutive strikes of their own.

• After trailing 10-6 at the half, MU was held to just one third quarter goal as Denver continued to gain separation. The Golden Eagles tacked on two scores in the fourth, but were unable to make up any ground.

• The duo of Shea Garcia and Lydia Foust each finished with hat tricks, Foust finishing with five points on three goals and two assists.

EARLIER THIS SEASON

• In the regular season meeting between Marquette and Georgetown less than two weeks ago, MU picked up an important win as they took down the Hoyas 14-12 on April 24 in Milwaukee to earn a Senior Day win.

• 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 spent all 60 minutes in goal, coming up with 10 saves.

• The Hoyas were led by Ali Bakes, who scored five goals on seven shots in the contest.

BIG EAST HONORS

• Six Marquette players were named to the All-BIG EAST First and Second teams, the league announced Wednesday morning

• A pair of Golden Eagles earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team in senior midfielder Lydia Foust and junior attacker Mary Schumar.

• Junior draw control specialist Mary Blee, senior attacker Shea Garcia, senior defender Ellie Henry and junior midfielder Emma Soccodato each earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors.

• With six honorees this year, Marquette ties its program record for individual all-league honors, set last season.

TOURNAMENT TIME

• Marquette will make its third appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament this week, earning its highest-ever seed after going 3-2 against league opponents.

• 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 are 0-2 all-time in the tournament. MU's previous BIG EAST Tournament appearances came in 2018 and 2019, both losses in the semifinal round.

RECORD WATCH

• As the season winds down 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 two 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 11 free position goals this year, Shea Garcia tied the single-season mark against Denver. She also ranks second all-time with 26 in her career.

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 14.41 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 6.41 assists per game, this team currently ranks third all-time.

• MU has already set single-season program records for free position goals (50) and draw controls (299).