The Marquette women’s lacrosse team fell 20-5 against the No. 4 Northwestern Wildcats Tuesday night in Lake Barrington, Ill.
The Golden Eagles got off to a slow start against the Wildcats, as they conceded the first goal of the game just one minute and 34 seconds into the game. It would not get any better for Marquette, as the seven-time national champions would extend that lead to 7-0.
“Northwestern plays a faster pace than what we’re used to ,” coach Meredith Black said. “We may not have been ready for that speed off the first draw.”
However, with about 18 minutes left in the half, goal scorer Hayley Baas found the back of the net, beating Northwestern goalkeeper Bridget Bianco for her first goal on the night. The goal cut the Wildcat advantage to 8-1.
“Hayley (Baas) is one of the hardest workers on the team, and she’s a great captain,” goalkeeper Sarah Preim said. “So I wasn’t surprised she did so well because she works so hard and she tries to create as many opportunities as she possibly can, and they worked out for her.”
With 13 minutes to go in the half, Baas added another goal on a free position shot. But the Wildcats added four more goals to take a commanding 12-2 lead going into the locker room at the half.
Northwestern would add the first six goals of the second half to jump out to an 18-2 lead. From that point on, the Golden Eagles took over, holding a 3-2 advantage with the remaining time. The 3-2 run was aided by Baas finishing off her hat trick, and freshmen Julianna Shearer and Amanda Bochniak netting their second goals in two games. When the final whistle blew, the Golden Eagles were on the wrong side of the 20-5 score line.
“We started off a little bit timid, and we didn’t quite keep up with the speed of play in the beginning of the game,” Black said. “As the game went on our confidence built and grew, and we were able to finish with the last two goals of the game.”
Despite the lopsided score, there were many bright spots for Black’s team, one of them being sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Priem, who made 10 saves on 13 of the Wildcat’s first half shots while picking up three ground balls.
After a 0-2 start, Marquette women’s lacrosse has a great opportunity Friday as it heads to Michigan for the Wolverines’ first home game in program history.
“We obviously know what it’s like to have that first game, and although there are nerves there’s also adrenalin,” said Black. “We have to set the tone for the game and not let them set the tone.”
The Golden Eagles will wrap up their weekend road trip Sunday against Detroit. Marquette defeated Detroit 11-10 last season at Valley Fields.
