Men’s lacrosse opens 2023 season against Lindenwood

Photo by: Kylie Bridenhagen

Men’s lacrosse opens 2023 season against Lindenwood

2/1/2023 4:19:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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The Golden Eagles host Lindenwood’s first NCAA Division I game

By: Communications

Game Notes (PDF) | Tickets

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's lacrosse team kicks off its 2023 regular season on National Marquette Day with a matchup against NCAA Division I-newcomer Lindenwood at Valley Fields.

First faceoff on Saturday is slated for 11 a.m. Central time and FloSports will feature the live broadcast from the Valley dome. Local broadcaster Matt Menzl will handle the call as MU opens its 11th campaign and Lindenwood begins its first. MU fans receive discounted partnership pricing from FloSports by following this link to register.

Single-game tickets are on sale through the Marquette Ticket Office online or at the gate on game day for $5.

MARQUETTE (0-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)

The Golden Eagles return most key pieces from a 2022 squad that advanced to the BIG EAST tournament for the first time since 2018. Outside of its top-two short stick defensive midfielders, MU returns all its major players from last season.
Marquette welcomes back each of their top-six scorers including attackman Bobby O'Grady, who was the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and a first team all-conference selection after setting the MU single-season record with 45 goals.
Marquette also returns two-time USILA All-America defenseman Mason Woodward, preseason All-BIG EAST long-stick midfielder David Lamarca in addition to former all-conference selections in faceoff specialist Luke Williams, attackman Devon Cowan and close defenseman Zach Granger.
The Golden Eagles also welcome back goalie Mike Allieri who started all 15 contests and led the BIG EAST with 12.60 saves per game. He turned in a program-record 26 saves at then-No. 2 Georgetown on April 16 last season.
Marquette is in year four of the tenure of head coach Andrew Stimmel, who was an assistant coach on MU's first BIG EAST Championship and NCAA tournament team in 2016. MU's seasons were truncated due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 during Stimmel's first two campaigns, while the Golden Eagles fought through various injuries to key starters last season.

LINDENWOOD (0-0, 0-0 ASUN)

The Lions were picked to finish ninth in the ASUN preseason poll and are entering their first season in Division I after a 12-4 record in their final in Division II campaign.
Lindenwood is led by 10th-year head coach Jim Lange and features three all-conference selections, including senior Cam Smith who was second on the squad with 27 goals and 52 points (27-25-52).
LU has 16 freshmen and seven Division I transfers this spring and a pair of talented returning poles in LSM Oisin McTigue and Brian Kallberg.
The Lions are playing in the 10-team ASUN Conference this season and have played NCAA lacrosse since 2012. They've previously been members of WILA, ECAC and most recently, GLVC.

WOODWARD IS ELITE

Close defenseman Mason Woodward has led the Golden Eagles in caused turnovers in each of his three seasons and is the program's all-time leader in ground balls per game (4.59 per contest).
He returns as the league's leader in ground balls among non-faceoff specialists and is the program's second two-time USILA All-American (Ryan McNamara earned honors in both 2016 and 2017).

O'GRADY VAULTS INTO MU RECORD BOOK

Bobby O'Grady turned in a record-setting season as a true freshman in 2022, setting new program records for goals (45) and man-up scores (13).
He also recorded just the fourth 50-point season at Marquette and tied a BIG EAST record with eight goals at St. John's on April 9, 2022.
His 3.00 goals per game was a MU single-season record and through just 15 games of his NCAA career, he's eighth in program history in career goals and third in man-up scores.
O'Grady is just one of eight active players in the country to have at least a 15-game scoring streak and is one of only three on that list to have scored in every career game.

DEEP AT THE DOT:

The Golden Eagles boast a deep group of faceoff specialists led by All-BIG EAST Second Teamer Luke Williams, who posted a .568 percentage last season, grabbed a team-leading 69 ground balls, and contributed to MU's early offense with a career-high seven points on four goals and three assists. He was even more efficient in BIG EAST play, winning at a .617 clip with 35 ground balls and a pair of goals in five games.
Fellow senior Cole Emmanuel had the highest face-off percentage on the team (.594) in 2022 by winning 38 of his 56 draws. The transfer from Colorado Mesa had his best game to end the year in MU's BIG EAST semifinal loss to No. 2 Georgetown and USILA All-American James Reilly. Emmanuel won 14-of-21 (.667) faceoffs, while picking up nine ground balls and scoring one of MU's five goals.
Graduate student Grant Evans also joins the squad from Division III Grove City College, where Stimmel was the MCLA Division II Coach of the Year in 2013. Evans was a two-time USILA Third Team All-American and the NCAA statistical champion in faceoff percentage in 2019. He ended his career at Grove City with a .762 winning percentage and 70 points but will face stiff competition for playing time with Williams, Emmanuel, Luke Rios, and freshman Adam Slager.

TEAM USA TIES TO MU LACROSSE

Head coach Andrew Stimmel captured a gold medal last summer as an assistant coach with the Team USA Men's Under-21 Team at the World Lacrosse Men's U-21 Championship in Limerick, Ireland.
Former MU players Liam Byrnes and Jake Richard (current MU assistant) were also selected this fall to the 23-man Team USA roster for the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship.
The event will take place from June 21 to July 1, with 30 teams competing at San Diego State University and the University of San Diego. Team USA is in search of its record 11th world title and has finished first or second at every world championship since the event began in 1967.
Byrnes is all All-Premier Lacrosse League close defenseman and led Waterdogs LC to a league title in 2022, while Richard plays SSDM for Atlas LC. Byrnes also plays box lacrosse in the NLL.

TRANSFERS ADD SCORING PUNCH

Matthew Winegardner and Jackson Rose both arrive as all-conference performers and high-level point producers at their previous institutions. Rose was a second team All-MAAC attackman last season at St. Bonaventure, where he led the league in shooting percentage, and scored a career-high 40 goals on attack. Winegardner played in the midfield at Mercer, where he posted 27 points on 17 goals and 10 assists.
Nate Surd played one season at Colorado Mesa with MU faceoff specialist Cole Emmanuel before spending two seasons at Harford Community College in Maryland. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder posted 75 points in 22 career games at Harford, including 49 points (29 goals and 20 assists) in 12 games last season.

HOME GAMES ON FLOSPORTS

All home games for both MU men's and women's programs will be broadcast live on FloSports, the BIG EAST Conference's digital rights holder.
Discounted rates for FloSports accounts are available by signing up through the Marquette portal for either men's or women's (signing up with either link will work for both sports).
Most BIG EAST games, home- and road-contests, will be available through FloSports. Scott Sudikoff will handle play-by-play duties on most broadcasts from the Valley, while local announcer Matt Menzl will also assist.

MU TO HOST 2023 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP

For the first time this season, the Golden Eagles will host the 2023 BIG EAST Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship presented by JEEP on Thursday, May 4 and Saturday, May 6 at Valley Fields. Tickets for the tournament will go on sale at a later date.

IRON DISTRICT MKE, THE FUTURE HOME OF MU LAX

Iron District MKE, the new home stadium for men's and women's soccer and lacrosse sits on an 11-acre parcel of land that Marquette University sold in spring 2022 to Bear Development who, together with Kacmarcik Enterprises, is developing the area into a vibrant sports and entertainment district.
The development, bordered by N. 6th Street to the east, N. 10th Street to the west, and W. Michigan Street to the north, is centered around an 8,000-seat stadium, includes a 3,500-capacity indoor concert venue operated by the Pabst Theater Group, will have a 140-unit residential component, boutique hotel, in addition to dining, nightlife and retail operations.
Construction has begun on the development and the Golden Eagles expect to begin competing at the venue by the 2025 campaign.

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).