The men’s lacrosse team (3-2) enters its road game against the Michigan Wolverines on a two-game losing streak and fresh off a week’s break. They undoubtedly spent that week working on defense after getting walloped, 12-2, by Robert Morris in its last home game.
“I think obviously this team is still a work in progress and there’s a lot to work on,” head coach Joe Amplo said. “For us, we are just trying to realize realize how hard we have to play and how well we have to execute to perform at this level.”
Faceoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. Central Time and can be seen on BTN2GO.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Despite being just five years old as a program, the Wolverines are on their second head coach. First-year head man Kevin Conry joined the program after the 2017 offseason after a successful stint as defensive coordinator with the Maryland Terrapins, which won last year’s national championship.
The Wolverines (4-2) have won two straight after defeating Air Force 13-7 and Siena 14-9. Michigan’s solid start to the season is mostly thanks to junior Brent Noseworthy, who leads the team with 18 goals and 22 total points. Junior Decker Curran is second on the team with 11 goals..
“Their top six offensive players are as good as any we’ve seen,” Amplo said. “Defensively, they’ve got a couple of real good players and they’ve got a really good plan. Those kids have something to prove, and that’s the challenge for us. We’re going to get each team’s best game.”
LOOKING TO FIND OFFENSIVE GROOVE AGAIN
In order for Marquette to get back on the right track, the Golden Eagles will have to find a solid offensive plan and stick with it. During its two-game losing streak, Marquette has mustered just eight combined goals.
Junior attackman John Wagner, the team’s leading scorer among returning players, has had 7 goals and 12 total points. Only one of those points has come in the last two games, which is a big drop-off from his pair of game-winning goals against Jacksonville and Ohio State early in the season.
Freshman attackman Anthony Orsini has picked up the slack on offense, leading the team with 10 goals and three assists. However, Amplo says that he’s “banged up” and questionable for Saturday’s game.
“On a macro level, we’re trying to handle these challenges and discomfort and individually, each of these guys has to handle some challenges and discomfort,” Amplo said. “That’s the fun part of it. That’s the curiosity that I have and Anthony’s teammates have is how he handles some stress in his life.”
NOT A LOT OF WIGGLE ROOM LEFT
Marquette is five games into its season and is already in a precarious position for making its third straight NCAA Tournament because of losses to Robert Morris and Bellarmine.
“I think we are capable of putting together a game where we can compete with most teams, but our margin for error is very slim,” Amplo said.
This is the last game before Marquette’s BIG EAST slate, which starts next week with a home match against the Georgetown Hoyas. Amplo is expecting his team to approach this game with a greater sense of urgency than they’ve approached the last few games with.
“I want people to feel how important this is to our team by how we play,” Amplo said. “I think we missed that opportunity (last) Saturday by how we performed. I know it’s important to these kids, but it’s their obligation and responsibility to perform.”
