Marquette men’s lacrosse entered its regular season finale against No. 18 Denver Friday night with BIG EAST Tournament implications on the line all around the conference.
The Golden Eagles suffered a 16-8 loss to the Pioneers at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, locking up the No. 4 seed in next week’s conference tournament.
Redshirt sophomore attacker Jake Stegman opened the scoring for Marquette just two minutes into the contest, but Denver would respond with five-straight goals to end the first quarter leading 5-1.
The Pioneers wouldn’t stop the scoring there, however, as they would extend their lead to 7-1 before redshirt sophomore attacker Devon Cowan stopped the home sides’ 7-0 scoring run and the Golden Eagles’ 17-minute goalless streak at the time.
At the break, Denver comfortably lead 10-3 over Marquette, having three players with two goals each.
In the third quarter, Marquette’s offensive struggles would continue on the night as the team failed to score the entirety of the quarter.
The Golden Eagles would then trail 12-3 going into the final frame after a pair of goals from the Pioneers gave them their largest lead of the night.
The Marquette offense would find some life in the fourth quarter going on a 5-1 scoring run, but it was a little too late on any hopes of a miraculous comeback as Denver ended the game on a 3-0 run.
Redshirt first-year attacker Luke Blanc and Cowan led the scoring for Marquette, both posting a hat-trick on the night. For Blanc, it was his second career hat-trick.
First-year attacker Bobby O’Grady continued his scoring streak with his 44th goal of the season in the fourth quarter.
Jack Hannah and Alex Simmons led Denver with three goals apiece.
Marquette redshirt first-year goalkeeper Michael Allieri made 13 saves on the afternoon, extending his streak of at least 13 or more saves in the Golden Eagles’ last five BIG EAST contests.
With the loss, Marquette (4-10) will now take on No. 2 Georgetown in the BIG EAST Semifinals May 5 at 7:30 p.m. CST. The Hoyas defeated the Golden Eagles 20-10 in the two’s first matchup of the season back on April 16 in Washington D.C.
This article was written by Sam Arco. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @SamArcoMU.
