MUWLAX Travels to North Carolina for NCAA Tournament

Friday, May 12

Chapel Hill, N.C.

4 PM

Marquette University

Richmond

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MUWLAX Travels to North Carolina for NCAA Tournament

5/10/2023 1:08:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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Golden Eagles will face Richmond in program's first-ever NCAA tournament game

By: Communications

The No. 22 Marquette women's lacrosse team (15-3, 5-1 BIG EAST) continues to make history as it travels to Chapel Hill, North Carolina this weekend to compete in its first-ever NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship. The Golden Eagles will match up against the Richmond Spiders (16-3, 8-1 A10) in the first round on Friday, May 12, at 4 p.m. CT. The winner of that game will face the winner of North Carolina/Sacred Heart on Sunday, May 14, at 11 a.m. CT. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Golden Eagles are in the midst of their best season in program history, going 15-3 overall including 5-1 mark in conference play to finish second in the BIG EAST. MU suffered a heartbreaking 16-17 loss to UConn in the conference semifinals last Saturday. It ranks No. 22 in this week's IWLCA Top 25 Poll.

Friday's game will be the first all-time meeting between Marquette and Richmond, and should they win, the Golden Eagles will face another first-time opponent in either North Carolina or Sacred Heart. Richmond and Sacred Heart each won their respective conferences, while North Carolina are the reigning national champions.

Six Marquette players earned All-BIG EAST honors this season, while Lydia Foust was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and head coach Meredith Black and staff were named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Joining Foust on the All-BIG EAST First Team are Mary Schumar, Ellie Henry and Emma Soccodato, while Shea Garcia and Leigh Steiner each earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors. This is a program record for first-teamers, and ties a program record for overall number of honorees.

THE FIRST DANCE

• Just over a decade into the program's existence, Marquette will be making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship.

• The Golden Eagles are one of three teams this season making their tournament debut, joining Army and Sacred Heart.

• Additionally, Marquette is one of just three at-large teams and one of just five teams overall in the 29-team field that started playing in 2013 or later.

• Three BIG EAST teams are competing in this year's tournament, as MU is joined by UConn and 5-seed Denver.

FOUST AND SCHUMAR NAMED ALL-AMERICANS

• Marquette seniors Lydia Foust and Mary Schumar became the first Golden Eagles to ever earn USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American honors, each being named honorable mention.

• Foust is the BIG EAST's leading scorer this season and ranks 15th nationally with 58 goals, one shy of a program record. She also ranks third in the conference with 73 total points, and 7th in the NCAA with 8.2 shots per game.

• Schumar is the national leader in assists this season with 3.83 per game, fifth-most in NCAA history. She leads the conference and ranks ninth nationally with 89 total points.

ALL-BIG EAST HONOREES

• BIG EAST yearly honors were announced last week, a list which includes a record-setting number of Marquette players.

• Coach Meredith Black and staff were honored with the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year award, while Lydia Foust was named Midfielder of the Year and six Golden Eagles earned a spot on all-conference teams.

• Foust is the second player in program history to earn position player of the year honors, joining Grace Gabriel (2018, 2019). She was also a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team, earning a spot for the third-straight year.

• Other honorees include first-teamers Mary Schumar, Ellie Henry and Emma Soccodato, and second-teamers Shea Garcia and Leigh Steiner.

• Four first-team honorees is the most in program history, while six total honorees ties last season for the most combined honors in program history.

A HISTORIC SEASON

• Going 15-2 in the regular season with a 5-1 BIG EAST record, the Golden Eagles have shattered nearly every mark in the program record book this season.

• Prior to this year, Marquette's best finish came in 2018 when it reached 10 wins, its only other double-figure win total in program history.

• MU's five conference wins and perfect 8-0 road record during the regular season were both high marks, while the team has set records for points, goals, assists, shots, shots on goal and draw controls in a season as well.

RECORD WATCH

• Currently with 58 goals on the season, Lydia Foust is just one goal shy of the single-season program record of 59 set by Grace Gabriel in 2019. Additionally, Shea Garcia is just 10 goals shy of Gabriel's career record of 175.

• Goalie Brynna Nixon is coming up on the single-season ground balls record of 47, set by Allison Lane in 2018. Nixon currently has 44.

• Against UConn, Foust scored four free position goals to overtake the top spot on both the career and single-season free position record list.

• Foust also became just the second MU player to ever hit 200-career points, joining teammate Shea Garcia, who got there earlier this season.

• With 69 assists this season, Mary Schumar is tied for ninth in NCAA history. She needs just four to move into the top-5 all-time.