When senior attacker Shea Garcia decided to use her COVID-19 extra year of eligibility to return for a fifth season, she said it was a no brainer.
“I was really excited to have another opportunity, especially with two people in my grade coming back as too,” Garcia said. “We just had a good opportunity in front of us (and) I wanted to come back and win a Big East championship with a bunch of friends and people I’ve (been) with over the last four years.”
The decision has been a rewarding one for both Garcia and the Golden Eagles.
On Saturday, Garcia become the program’s all-time points leader in Marquette’s (12-1, 2-0 Big East) 22-7 win over Xavier (4-7, 0-3) at Valley Fields.
“She’s been amazing, she started as a freshman and was our Big East Freshman of the Year that year and she’s gotten better every single season,” Marquette head coach Meredith Black said. “She’s so committed, she’s so humble (and) she works hard behind the scenes. She’s been a joy to coach.”
With the win, the Golden Eagles put themselves in a good position to compete for their Big East Tournament title, sitting tied atop the conference with Denver. It’s the first time in program history, Marquette has opened league play 2-0.
Statistical Leaders
Breaking the program’s all-time points record was not the only record Saturday.
Behind an eight goal outing, Garcia surpassed teammate Lydia Foust’s record for most goals in a singular game by a single player. Foust previously held the record at seven, which she setΒ earlier in the season against San Diego State.
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β Marquette Womenβs Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) April 8, 2023
Senior attacker Mary Schumar finished with eight points on the day by dishing out six assists and scoring two goals.
The Golden Eagles had six other players total two or more points on the afternoon in the box score.
Junior midfielder Sawyer Walker led Xavier with two goals and an assist.
A Big Spark
It was a tight battle between the two sides early in the game, with the Musketeers going on a 3-2 run to bring the game within one with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
The run forced Black to call timeout to help her team regroup.
The timeout did just that as the Golden Eagles would go on a 9-0 run, seven of which game in the final 4:45 of the quarter.
Garcia found the back of the net twice in the final 13 seconds of the frame.
“I definitely couldn’t have done it without Mary Schumar putting those passes right on my stick,” Garcia said. “Definitely couldn’t do it without her and all my other teammates setting me up.”
Junior midfielder Leigh Steiner and senior attacker Hannah Greving added two more goals to start the second quarter to cap-off the run.
Battling through Injury
Though she did not having a busy day in the cage, it was a challenging outing forΒ sophomore goalkeeper Brynna Nixon.
After sustaining a left thumb injury in the final minute of Tuesday’s 13-12 win over Ohio State, Nixon wore a hand brace over her thumb Saturday.
Despite that, Nixon still made five saves on 12 shots faced on the afternoon.
“She’s got a really tough mindset,” Black said. “The doctor approved her to play so she (was) like ‘I got this, I’ll get it done’.”
Black said she is unsure on the severity of Nixon’s injury but said she believes it is just a sprain or bruise.
“Her thumb just got hit by the ball,” Black said. “I think it’s pretty common with goalies, I’ve been told.”
A First for the Program
In a season that has seen Marquette make history in the program over and over again, the Golden Eagles added one more feather to their history cap.
In its first ever match-up with each other, Marquette picked up its first win against Xavier in program history. The Musketeers are in their first season competing as a Division I lacrosse program in the Big East.
“We love that Xavier has a program,” Black said. “We were pumped about being able to play them at home for our first time ever, just great for the conference (and) great for the sport of women’s lacrosse. They’re a really strong team and are doing really well in their first year.”
Up Next
Marquette will be back in action next Saturday to take on its second Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Top 25 opponent of the season.
The Golden Eagles host the No. 25 UConn Huskies at 11 a.m. CST from Valley Fields April 15.
“First we celebrate our win today until midnight and then we focus on who we have ahead of us,” Garcia said. “We have a lot of work to do, but we’re not going to change anything that we’ve been doing, we have been putting up a lot of points. I’ve never beaten UConn in my past five years, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to beat them.”
This article was written by Jackson Gross. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacksonGrossMU.
