No. 24 Marquette Hosts No. 3 Denver Saturday for BIG EAST Regular Season Title

MILWAUKEE — The No. 24 Marquette women's lacrosse team (15-1, 5-0 BIG EAST) is set to wrap up its regular this weekend as it hosts No. 3 Denver (16-0, 5-0 BIG EAST) on Saturday, April 29, at 12 p.m. CT at the Valley Fields Dome in Milwaukee. Both teams enter the weekend unbeaten in league play, with Saturday's contest serving as the de facto BIG EAST regular season championship. The game will be broadcast on FloSports, with live stat and stream links available at GoMarquette.com.

The Golden Eagles are in the midst of their best season in program history sitting at 15-1, and received their first ever national ranking, coming in at No. 24 in this week's IWLCA poll. Marquette has won 12-straight games, with its only loss of the season coming to current No. 1 team Northwestern. Most recently, MU picked up a 12-8 win at Villanova on Saturday.

Denver is the nation's only undefeated team, entering the weekend 16-0 and ranked No. 3 in the IWLCA Poll. The Pioneers boast the nation's top defense, allowing opponents just 5.8 goals per game. They have won each of the past three BIG EAST titles, and haven't lost a league game since 2018.

The Pioneers have been led offensively this year by senior attacker Julia Gilbert, who has team-best marks of 48 points and 42 goals. In net, sophomore Emelia Bohi has started 15 games and allowed just 6.07 goals on average while making 89 saves and boasting a .514 save percentage.

Saturday's game will be the eighth meeting between Marquette and Denver, the Pioneers having won each meeting. Last season in Denver, the Pioneers won 18-9 in the final game of the regular season for both sides.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

• Denver enters the final game of the regular season as the only unbeaten team in the NCAA, sitting at 16-0, and tied with Marquette atop the league standings at 5-0.

• The Pioneers have won their conference games this season by an average margin of 12.6 goals (17.6-5.0). They have won each of the past three BIG EAST titles, and haven't lost a league game since 2018.

• The squad is led by senior attacker Julia Gilbert, who has team-best marks of 48 points and 42 goals. Freshman attacker Ryan Dineen is the team's top facilitator with 39 points on 23 goals and 16 assists.

• In net, sophomore Emelia Bohi has started 15 games and allowed just 6.07 goals on average while making 89 saves and boasting a .514 save percentage.

• Denver boasts the nation's top scoring defense, allowing opponents just 5.81 goals per game. It also ranks third in draw control percentage (.637) and eighth in scoring margin (7.25).

SERIES HISTORY VS DENVER

• Saturday's game will be the eighth meeting between Marquette and Denver, a series which began in 2016.

• Denver has won every contest in the series, holding a 7-0 record against MU.

Last 5 Meetings

DATE LOCATION RESULT SCORE

4/30/22 A L 9-18

4/18/21 H L 11-12 (2OT)

4/16/21 H L 6-16

4/19/19 A L 11-21

4/18/18 H L 11-17

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

• With both Marquette and Denver entering the regular season finale with a 5-0 conference record, Saturday's game will crown the BIG EAST regular season champion and determine the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament.

• The Golden Eagles have never won a conference title. They earned the 2-seed in last year's BIG EAST Tournament, their highest seed ever.

• The loser of Saturday's game will be the 2-seed in the tournament.

LAST TIME OUT

• Marquette picked up an important BIG EAST win last Saturday in Pennsylvania, as it defeated Villanova 12-8 to remain perfect in conference play and close out its regular season road slate with an unbeaten 8-0 mark.

• After a strong defensive start from both sides, Marquette used a 5-1 second quarter to gain control and take a 7-4 lead into the half. MU was held to just one goal in the third quarter, but scored four in the final frame to punctuate the win.

• A pair of hat tricks helped spark the Golden Eagles as Lydia Foust and Meg Bireley each finished with three goals. Mary Schumar had a goal and four assists.

FOUST, HENRY AND SCHUMAR EARN WEEKLY HONORS

• After helping MU to wins at Butler and Villanova last week, a trio of Golden Eagles were honored by the BIG EAST.

• Lydia Foust earned her fourth BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week honor of the season after totaling 12 points on 10 goals and a pair of assists last week, including a seven-goal performance at Butler.

• Ellie Henry was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this year. The senior helped anchor the Marquette defense in the wins, and had a career-high 15 draw controls vs Butler, second-most in program history.

• Mary Schumar was named to the Weekly Honor Roll after totaling 17 points on three goals and 14 assists. Her nine assists at Butler set a BIG EAST record.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION

• Marquette has a number next to its name for the first time in program history, being ranked No. 24 in this week's IWLCA Top 25 Poll. It is one of three BIG EAST teams in the poll, joining No. 3 Denver and No. 23 UConn, while Villanova is receiving votes as well.

• The 15-1 Golden Eagles rank 16th nationally in RPI and are one of just six teams in the NCAA with one or fewer losses this season.

ALMOST TOURNAMENT TIME

• The 2023 BIG EAST Tournament will take place next weekend in Storrs, Connecticut, May 5 & 7 at UConn's Joseph J. Morrone Stadium.

• The quarterfinal round is Friday, May 5. If Marquette defeats Denver, it will be the 1-seed and would face 4-seed Villanova at 3 p.m. CT. If MU loses to Denver, it would be the 2-seed and would face 3-seed UConn at 12 p.m. CT.

• The championship game will be Sunday, May 7 at 11 a.m. CT, and will be televised on FS2.

RECORD WATCH

• Currently with 54 goals on the season, Lydia Foust is just five goals shy of the single-season program record of 59 set by Grace Gabriel in 2019. Shea Garcia is just 15 goals shy of Gabriel's career record of 175.

• Foust scored the 34th free position goal of her career vs Villanova to tie the program record. Shea Garcia is just one behind that mark with 33.

• Foust is also just seven points shy of joining Shea Garcia as the second MU player to ever reach 200 career points.

• Mary Schumar already holds program season and career assist records, and with 66 assists this year, she is tied for 12th in NCAA history, while her 4.13 assists per game average ranks 4th in NCAA history.

SENIOR SALUTE

• Prior to Saturday's game, Marquette will honor 12 graduating student-athletes on the field in a brief Senior Day ceremony.

• Among those being honored are seniors Mary Blee (Howard County, Md.), Carrie Froemming (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Colleen Graham (Chatham, N.J.), Hannah Greving (Western Springs, Ill.), Kate Pearson (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Mary Schumar (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Emma Soccodato (Huntington, N.Y.), and Leigh Steiner (Eden Prairie, Minn.).

• Fifth-year seniors Claire Conway (Bethlehem, N.Y.), Lydia Foust (Redwood City, Calif.), Shea Garcia (Manhasset, N.Y) and Ellie Henry (Eden Prairie, Minn.) will also be recognized.