WLAX Set for BIG EAST Tournament

STORRS, Connecticut — The No. 19 Marquette women's lacrosse team (15-2, 5-1 BIG EAST) begins postseason play this weekend as it travels to Storrs, Connecticut, for the BIG EAST Tournament. The 2-seed Golden Eagles will match up against the 3-seed UConn Huskies (11-5, 4-2 BIG EAST) in the semifinals on Friday, May 5, at 12 p.m. CT, and the winner of that game will face the winner of Denver/Villanova on Sunday, May 5, at 11 a.m. CT. The semifinal game will be broadcast on FloSports, with the championship airing on FS2.

The Golden Eagles concluded the best regular season in program history with a 15-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in BIG EAST play, ranking No. 19 in the most recent IWLCA Poll. Most recently, MU had a 12-game winning streak snapped as it fell to No. 3 Denver at home last Saturday.

This will be Marquette's fourth all-time BIG EAST Tournament appearance, having qualified for four of the past five tournaments. MU enters as the 2-seed for the second-straight year, matching its best-ever seeding. The Golden Eagles are in search of their first-ever postseason win.

Six Golden Eagle 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.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

• UConn finished the regular season ranked No. 24 in the IWLCA Poll, with an 11-5 overall record and a 4-2 mark in BIG EAST play.

• Four of UConn's five losses are to current Top-25 teams, including a loss to Marquette when the teams faced off in April. It closed the season with three-straight wins, defeating Georgetown, Butler and Xavier.

• The Huskies are 7-2 at home this season.

• The squad is led on the field this season by attacker Kate Shaffer, a senior who has 73 points on 48 goals and 25 assists. Graduate attacker Lia LaPrise has 58 points on 31 goals and a team-high 27 assists.

• In net, Graduate Landyn White has been one of the top goalkeepers in the country this year, totaling 167 saves with a .510 save percentage, ranking in the top-10 in both categories.

• UConn averages 14.75 goals per game while allowing 11.38. It ranks second in the BIG EAST in draws per game (15.5), points per game (21.2) and shots per game (33.6).

SERIES HISTORY VS UCONN

• Saturday's game will be the 11th meeting between Marquette and UConn, a series which began in 2013.

• The Huskies lead the all-time series 9-2, with the Golden Eagles earning wins this season and in 2018.

Last 5 Meetings

DATE LOCATION RESULT SCORE

4/15/23 H W 12-9

4/2/22 A L 15-18

3/21/21 H L 13-18

3/19/21 H L 13-14

4/28/18 H W 15-14

EARLIER THIS SEASON

• In the regular season meeting between Marquette and UConn, MU came out on top with a 12-9 victory on April 15 in Milwaukee.

• The Golden Eagles used a dominant first half and strong defense throughout to secure the victory. MU opened the game with an 8-1 lead, then saw its lead eventually grow to as many as eight goals before the Huskies used a late surge to inch closer, but they couldn't get any closer than three.

• Brynna Nixon made a career-high 14 saves for Marquette, while Shea Garcia went for four goals and an assist and Tess Osburn finished with a hat trick.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Since the inception of the program in 2013, this is the fourth time Marquette has qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament. The Golden Eagles have now made four of the past five tournaments (there was no tournament in 2020).

• Entering as a 2-seed, this ties last season's mark as the highest-ever tournament seeding by a Marquette team.

• MU is in search of its first ever postseason win, going 0-3 in previous attempts.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY

• The winner of Marquette and UConn will advance to the BIG EAST championship game, where it will face the winner of 1-seed Denver and 4-seed Villanova for the tournament title and the league's auto bid to the NCAA tournament.

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

ALL-BIG EAST HONOREES

• BIG EAST yearly honors were announced Thursday morning, 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 double-figure win total in program history.

• MU's five conference wins and perfect 8-0 road record are both high mark, while the team has already set records for points, goals and assists in a season as well.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION

• Marquette has a number next to its name this season for the first time in program history, being ranked No. 19 in this week's IWLCA Top 25 Poll. It is one of three BIG EAST teams in the poll, joining No. 5 Denver and No. 24 UConn.

• After entering the poll with their first ever ranking last week at No. 24, the Golden Eagles jumped five spots this week.

• The 15-2 Golden Eagles rank 14th nationally in RPI and are one of just nine teams in the NCAA with two or fewer losses this season.

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 14 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 six 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 68 assists this year, she ranks 12th in NCAA history, while her 4.0 assist per game average ranks 4th in NCAA history.

UP NEXT FOR MU

• Following the BIG EAST Tournament, Marquette will await its postseason fate with hopes of playing in its first ever NCAA tournament.

• The 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship bracket will be announced Sunday, May 7, at 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU.