WLAX Falls to No. 3 Denver in Regular Season Finale

MILWAUKEE — The No. 24 Marquette women's lacrosse team (15-2, 5-1 BIG EAST) suffered a loss in its final game of the regular season, falling 12-5 to No. 3 Denver at Valley Fields Saturday afternoon.

"I feel great about this team, what we're capable of and what we've accomplished this season," said Marquette head coach Meredith Black. "Denver's defense is number one in the country, but you've got to settle into the game a little bit. I think in the first quarter our nerves were high, and they just needed to calm down a little bit and trust the fundamentals."

The Golden Eagles saw a 12-game win streak come to an end, suffering just their second loss to close out a historic regular season for the program. Marquette will now head to the BIG EAST Tournament next week as a 2-seed, matching its highest seed in program history, and will face 3-seed UConn in the semifinal round on Friday, April 29.

Against the nation's top scoring defense, Marquette faced a 3-0 deficit through the first 15 minutes of the contest. A pair of goals from senior attacker Hannah Greving early in the second quarter sparked MU offense, which went on to score four goals in the frame including the final three before the break to head into halftime trailing 5-4.

While the Golden Eagles held steady throughout, Denver was able to gain some separation late in the contest with four fourth quarter goals to secure the win and the BIG EAST regular season title.

Marquette had a very strong showing in the draw circle, winning 14 draws to the Pioneers' seven. Senior Mary Blee had six draw controls, while Emma Soccodato and Ellie Henry each had four.

Along with Greving's two goals, MU had scoring contributions from Meg Bireley, Emma Soccodato and Shea Garcia.

In net for Marquette, sophomore Brynna Nixon played all 60 minutes, making eight saves with a .400 save percentage.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles now travel to Storrs, Connecticut, for the BIG EAST Tournament next week, May 5 & 7 at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium. They will be the 2-seed and will face 3-seed UConn in the quarterfinal round on Friday, May 5, at 12 p.m. CT. 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)