Following a 2-8 road record last year, Marquette women’s lacrosse head coach Meredith Black knew that in order for her team to compete with some of the best teams in the country, that record would need to be improved in 2023.
“If we want to be Big East champions, it’s going to be the games away you got to win,” Black said back in February. “We really made that a hyper focus in the fall and the girls totally bought into that.”
The Golden Eagles have done just that and a little more.
Marquette (15-1, 5-0 Big East) improved their road record to a perfect 8-0 Sunday afternoon as it capped off its two-game road trip with a 12-8 win over Villanova (11-5, 3-3) at Villanova Stadium.
The Golden Eagles enter next weekend’s regular season finale on a program record 12 game winning streak.
Waking up from a slow start
It was a slow and sloppy start for the Golden Eagles as they turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter, including one by sophomore defender Molly Powers which led to a goal from sophomore attacker Sydney Pappas to give the Wildcats a 3-1 lead with 32 seconds remaining.
Marquette was able to flip the switch from there, with senior attacker Hannah Greving sparking a 6-1 run from 23 seconds left in the first to the end of the half.
Senior attacker Shea Garcia and senior midfielder Lydia Foust each had two goals during the run, as the Golden Eagles would take a 7-4 halftime lead.
Forcing the Wildcats into mistakes
Coming into this match-up, Villanova was averaging 18 turnovers per game which ranked for fifth in the Big East.
On Sunday, Marquette cranked up its defensive pressure by causing 10 of Villanova’s 24 turnovers.
Five of those caused turnovers came in the third fourth quarter while Villanova was trying to mount a comeback.
Those turnovers limited the Wildcats to just four goals in the second half, while the Golden Eagles were able to put up four goals in the fourth quarter alone.
Bounce back game
After giving up 12 goals on 17 shots and being pulled for a time in Marquette’s win Wednesday at Butler, sophomore goalkeeper Brynna Nixon rebounded Saturday at Villanova.
The Bonney Lake, Washington native made seven saves on 15 shots on goal, including five saves in the second and third quarter combined.
Up Next
Marquette will return home to Valley Fields for its regular season finale on Saturday against No. 3 Denver, where the Big East regular season title is on the line.
This article was written by Jackson Gross. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacksonGrossMU.
