To anyone watching the Marquette women’s lacrosse team, it seems like every game the Golden Eagles set a new program record.
But it’s not every day that a team gets an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“It just shows all the hard work that this team and every team prior to this team has put in, to build this program being 10 years into it,” Marquette head coach Meredith Black said prior to the team’s departure. “That’s why we’re in this position today. Because when you win your conference, you go to the NCAA tournament, we didn’t do that. And we’re still going and that just shows how special it is and how great this team is to be able to accomplish that goal.”
Despite a first round exit in the Big East Tournament to UConn last weekend, Marquette was one of 29 teams to see its name added to the NCAA Tournament field.
The Golden Eagles will take on Richmond May 12 at 4 p.m. CST at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
NOT. DONE. YET 😤😤😤#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/bVsTHpDIbd
— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) May 8, 2023
“It was a core memory created to say the least. Me and my best friend on the team, Claire (Conway), were holding hands the entire time, everyone was looking around,” senior midfielder Emma Soccodato said prior to the team’s departure. “Being there, hearing your name called and just seeing the reaction that was just true, authentic joy and celebration. And that is again, a once in a lifetime thing that not a lot of people get to experience.”
Black said originally they assumed they’d play at Northwestern, if they made the tournament at all, but the Chapel Hill Regional is a change of pace.
Soccodato said the change in site locations won’t affect the team.
“Yes, it would have been more convenient to play at Northwestern, but if you’ve heard anything about our travel experiences it has been nothing but convenient,” Soccodato said. “So, we’re ready just take on that travel. I have family who are driving 14 hours with my dog in the car. We have so many fans that are going to come out and support us.”
With the semester wrapping up, Black said she is pushing the road-warrior mentality even more now, especially as the team travels to Chapel Hill.
“We’re really focusing on the controllable’s,” Black said. “Our road warriors challenge of the week is take care of the things you need to take care of, so that when we depart tomorrow (Wednesday May 10), you’re kind of all in ready to go mentally, physically, everything’s with you. And we can just be all about lacrosse for those four or five days.”
Next stop: Chapel Hill
Thanks for the send-off, @MarquetteBands and dance team!#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/bFFmKaWZwI
— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) May 10, 2023
And though the Golden Eagles’ bond oriented mentality hasn’t gone away, senior midfielder Lydia Foust said her and her teammates still have something to prove in the NCAA’s.
“We had a great year last year, but we didn’t finish the way we wanted to,” Foust said. “Coming into this year with having almost every single player returning it was like this is our year. This is the time we’re going to set a new standard for Marquette lacrosse.”
Marquette looks to continue to reach a new standard.
Setting the standard this year, going undefeated on the road and only losing two match-ups, Soccodato said that will push into the years to come.
“This is what the new baseline is of how we should be,” Soccodato said. “Again, we’ve never made it to the NCAA, this is the best record we’ve had on the road record in general. I’m just so happy that the underclassmen and the incoming see this as well and (that) we can be that good. They don’t have to build it from ground up like we did, they (can) come in and (be) ready to go.”
But for now, the Golden Eagles have their sight and focus on the Spiders and earning that first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
“The beauty about this team is we’re not done yet,” Soccodato said. “We’re never satisfied with our goals. And that’s why I think this year has been so successful. So yes, we’ve had a great year and we’ve made a name for Marquette lacrosse, but we want more and we want that victory in the NCAA’s.”
This article was written by Emma Kroll. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @emma_kroll_.
