Coming off its first road win Wednesday against Detroit Mercy, Marquette women’s lacrosse (2-4) was looking to finish its five road game stint against Niagara University (4-1) with a similar result.

But it was the Purple Eagles that soared above, causing the Golden Eagles to lose 19-17 Sunday afternoon, pushing their road record to 1-4.

Golden Eagles struggle to find net in first half

Sophomore Tess Osburn was the first to find the net and put Marquette in the lead, 1-0. However, it would be the Golden Eagles’ only advantage of the afternoon.

Marquette was outscored 12-6 (7-3 in the first frame, 5-3 in the second) in the opening 30 minutes, struggling to put the ball on net. The Golden Eagles put 55% of their shots on goal in the first quarter and 71% on net in the second. The Purple Eagles, conversely, shot 90% and 70% on goal in the opening half.

However, a bright spot of the match was Marquette’s domination of draw controls (24-15). Senior Josie Kropp attained 15 for the Golden Eagles, they just weren’t able to translate them onto the scoresheet.

Even so, Marquette was only down 12-6 at half, leaving two quarters to come back.

Offense shares credit in keeping Marquette alive

Meg Bireley scored seven goals throughout the match. In the second half, it was one in the last 4o seconds of the third, followed by four in the final quarter that brought Marquette within three, 18-15.

MEG is on 🔥🔥🔥🔥#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/HkewfBEsWm

— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) March 3, 2024

In the last two minutes, it was Tess Osburn and first-year Mary Velner sharing two goals that brought Marquette within two, 19-17.

Marquette shot 100% in the fourth quarter and was trying to complete the comeback.

However, with 33 seconds left to play, a game-sealing free position stop from Niagara ended the Golden Eagles’ chance at a win.

Up next

Marquette returns home to Valley Fields to face Colorado Friday. The match is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. CST.

This article was written by Sofie Hanrahan. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @SofieHanrahanMU.