MLAX Heads to No. 5/6 Denver for Regular Season Finale

Game Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's lacrosse team heads to Denver for its regular season finale against No. 5/6 University of Denver on Friday, April 26 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

The contest is slated for 8 p.m. Central time and airs live on Pioneer All-Access with Zach Bye and hall of fame coach Bill Tierney on the call.

Live statistics can be accessed through GoMarquette.com, courtesy of DU Athletics.

MARQUETTE (4-9, 0-4 BIG EAST)

MU's veteran core has reached numerous statistical milestones this season, including a new program ground ball record for defenseman Mason Woodward (261), career assist record for Jake Stegman (81), career goal mark for Bobby O'Grady (113) and the 100-point threshold for both O'Grady (131) and Stegman (126).
Stegman leads the Golden Eagles with 35 points on 12 goals and a team-best 23 assists, while O'Grady has a team-high 25 goals and 32 total points.
MU faceoff specialist Luke Williams leads the BIG EAST Conference and is fifth nationally with a .620 winning percentage this season (132-of-213). That mark would be a MU single-season program record and Williams is now one of just three players in program history with over 200 career ground balls after picking up 11 against Providence on April 13.
MU graduate attackman Devon Cowan (99 career goals) is just one goal from becoming the third player in MU history to reach 100.
Entering the regular season finale with 27 points on 15 goals and 12 assists, attackman Carsen Brandt has recorded the third-highest single-season point and assist totals ever for a Marquette true freshman. Only O'Grady (50 points in 2022) and Conor Gately (36 in 2013) had more points, while Gately (20 assists in 2013) and Will Foster (16 in 2022) had more assists.

No. 5/6 DENVER (10-2, 4-0 BIG EAST)

The Pioneers began the year with an overtime win at then-No. 6 Johns Hopkins on Feb. 3 and won their first five games prior to a 15-13 loss to then-No. 15 Yale. DU's only other loss was to then-No. 3 Duke on March 24.
The Pios own a total of three wins over teams ranked No. 6 at the time of the matchup. DU also defeated both Cornell and Georgetown at Peter Barton Stadium earlier this season.
Michael Lampert leads the Pioneers with 35 points on a team-best 19 assists and 16 goals. Lampert is one of seven Pios with double digit goals, while JJ Sillstrop leads the squad with 21 tallies alongside 12 assists.
Goalie Malcom Kleban leads the BIG EAST with a 9.06 goals-against average to pace a stout DU defense.
The Pioneers also boast one of the country's best specialist groups, led by USILA All-American long-stick midfielder AJ Mercurio (23 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers) and faceoff specialist Alec Stathakis, who grabs a league-high 7.5 ground balls per game and a owns a .611 faceoff winning percentage (174-285).
Head coach Matt Brown is in his first season in the role after replacing Tierney. Brown spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach at DU and served as the squad's offensive coordinator.

HISTORY WITH THE PIOS

Denver leads the all-time series 12-2 and has won each of the last seven matchups.
Both of MU's wins over DU have come in the BIG EAST tournament; a 10-9 win at then-No. 1 Denver in the 2016 title game and an 11-8 victory over then-No. 2 Denver in the 2017 league semis.
Denver leads the series, 6-1, in games played in Colorado.
Seven of the last 10 matchups have been decided by three-or-fewer goals and four of those have been just one-goal games, including last season's 15-14 DU overtime win in Milwaukee. MU scored three goals last year in the fourth quarter to force extra time and was led by six goals from O'Grady.
The 2023 matchup at Valley Fields marked the final regular season game of Tierney's career.
Key MU players versus DU:
- Luke Blanc: 2 GP, 3g, 2a
- Devon Cowan: 4 GP, 8g, 2a, 10 pts
- Will Foster: 2 GP, 2g, 3a, 5 pts
- Bobby O'Grady: 2 GP, 7g
- Jake Stegman: 4 GP, 2g, 5a, 7 pts
- Mason Woodward: 4 GP, 15 gb, 4 ct

Keep up with the Marquette men's lacrosse program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteMLax) and Instagram (@MarquetteMLax) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMLax).