Marquette women’s lacrosse offense led it to victory over Cincinnati last Sunday, but the same can’t be said about Friday.

The Golden Eagles (1-1) couldn’t keep up with Louisville (1-2) in the second half, giving up seven unanswered goals to the Cardinals, en route to a 14-9 defeat at UofL Lacrosse Stadium.

Shooting volume keeps Marquette close

The first quarter ended with light scoring and a 1-1 score. Though, the second was a different story.

Only one minute in, Marquette took the game in its hands. Junior midfielder Hanna Bodner received a pass from sophomore attacker Tess Osburn on her left who was then clobbered by two defenders. Bodner would take it parallel to the cage and bounce it in for the score. 

Tess to Hanna who bounces it in! 😤#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/X4qRhlyb4s

— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) February 16, 2024

This would give the Golden Eagles momentum to create another goal only one minute later from senior midfielder Leigh Steiner.

Marquette and Louisville would be neck-and-neck for the rest of the half, but high-volume shooting would be the tool to keep the Golden Eagles ahead, 5-4, going into the locker room.

Louisville’s defensive stand changes the tides

The two teams went back and forth on three goals during the first two minutes of the second half. This left Marquette up 7-5 with four minutes left in the third — but Louisville’s defense had an answer.

When three Cardinals received yellow cards, the Golden Eagles had a 7-4 man-advantage, a perfect opportunity to extend their lead. For 40 seconds, Louisville stopped Marquette from scoring and turned the game on its head.

After the defensive stand, the Cardinals went on their 7-0 run in 14 minutes.

Marquette scored twice before the end of the game, but the damage had already been done and it was too late to erase the deficit.

Up next

Marquette will continue their five-game road stint against No. 1 Northwestern Monday at 6 p.m. CST.

This article was written by Ben Hanson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @benhansonMU.