WLAX Falls 21-14 to No. 3 Northwestern in First Loss of Season

MILWAUKEE — The Marquette women's lacrosse team (3-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) suffered its first loss of the 2023 season Thursday night, falling 21-14 to No. 3 Northwestern at Valley Fields.

"Overall, I'm super proud of our team. We did a lot of great things, and I think we showed what we're capable of," said Marquette head coach Meredith Black. "I think if we had played a little bit better in the second quarter this could have been a much tighter game, and maybe changed the result, but we had a little bit of a dip and you can't have those."

The Golden Eagles' night was highlighted by an outstanding individual performance from senior attacker Mary Schumar, who set a Marquette single-game program record with eight assists in the contest. She was previously tied with two other players for the record after recording seven assists last season vs Butler.

Marquette started the night strong, hanging with the third-ranked Wildcats early with the game knotted up 4-4 late in the first quarter. The first three MU goals came from sophomore attacker Meg Bireley, who took just under eight minutes to pick up the fifth hat trick of her career. Bireley went on to finish with a career-high five goals and an assist.

NU then rattled off eight of the game's next nine goals to gain separation, and despite a late push the Golden Eagles were unable to close the gap. The second half was played evenly with eight goals per team, including five in the fourth quarter by MU.

While the Golden Eagles were efficient, scoring 14 goals on 30 shots, they lost the battle on the draw for the first time this season 24-15, and had 18 turnovers in the contest.

Freshman attacker Tess Osburn was another bright spot for Marquette, finding the back of the net three times for her first career hat trick. Hannah Greving and Lydia Foust finished with two goals apiece, while Shea Garcia and Leigh Steiner each tallied one as well.

In net, sophomore Brynna Nixon played all 60 minutes for Marquette and racked up a career-high 11 saves with a .344 save percentage.

Northwestern (3-1) was led by Izzy Scane, who finished with eight goals and an assist while taking 17 shots.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles remain at home after a week off as they host Detroit Mercy on Sunday, March 5. The game is set for 12 p.m. (CT) in the Valley Fields dome. Links for live stats and stream will be available on gomarquette.com.

Keep up with the Marquette women's lacrosse program all season long through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteWLax) and Instagram (@MarquetteWLax) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteWLax).