For the first time in program history, Marquette women’s lacrosse will host the BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Championships.
The semifinals will be May 2, and the winner of each of those games will play in the championship May 4 at Valley Fields.
Marquette earned the No. 2 seed for the BIG EAST Tournament after its 14-12 win over Georgetown, meaning the Golden Eagles will play against the Hoyas again Thursday.
“They are a fast team and they push the fast break,” head coach Meredith Black said. “They have a good offense and a couple threats that are pretty dynamic, so slowing them down will be key.”
The opportunity to host the tournament comes in the program’s seventh year of existence. Head coach Meredith Black said she and her team hope hosting will have positive effects on their play.
“Having our home crowd here is going to be really awesome,” senior midfielder Grace Gabriel said. “I think that’s going to be a big advantage for us.”
Black said the comfort of a normal schedule will help her players produce to their best ability.
“Hopefully that’s a little ‘hometown edge’ that we’ll get,” Black said. “Our team is already really excited, and they feel really good about going into the tournament, but being on our home turf just makes it that much better.”
The tournament comes after an important weekend for the program. The team celebrated Senior Day and had its Pancreatic Cancer Awareness game, which Black selected as the team’s philanthropy.
Hosting the tournament will mark the end of the collegiate careers of nine seniors.
“It’s bittersweet. I love this group. They are great,” Black said. “I am sad to see them go, but I’m also excited for them. They have done so much for the program and really brought us to new heights. I’m very proud of them.”
It’s clear the team isn’t dwelling too much on the sentimentality, though.
“We will be able to start off strong in practice this week leading up to the game,” Gabriel said. “We came out a little hesitant (in Saturday’s game), so I think if we come out strong, we will be able to dominate them.”
