Golden Eagles fall 17-11 against No. 19 Colorado

Benjamin Hanson, Sports Reporter • March 9, 2024

(Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics.)

Marquette women’s lacrosse’s 1-9 record against ranked opponents since 2022 worsened to 1-10 after Friday’s matinee against No. 19 Colorado.

The Buffaloes (5-2) used an extensive scoring run to beat the Golden Eagles (2-5) 17-11 at Valley Fields.

“There were really great moments and really good things to build off of, but too many turnovers,” Marquette head coach Meredith Black said. “If we have less turnovers, that means we have the ball more and more opportunity. If that happens, it’s a little bit of a closer game, if not an opportunity to win.”

An eye for an eye, a run for a run

Four minutes into the game, senior midfielder Leigh Steiner sparked a 3-0 run for Marquette to make it 4-1 Golden Eagles.

Pick up and score action from Leigh‼️#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/37GM1awp92

— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) March 8, 2024

But their lead wouldn’t last long as Colorado pieced together a 7-1 scoring streak that bled into the second frame, giving the Buffaloes an 8-5 advantage.

“We started really strong,” Black said. “We had a really good game plan on offense to move the ball. We won the draw battle by a lot, which was really helpful and it gave us a lot of possessions.

“That kept the game really close, but I think we let them get back in it at the end of the first quarter there by turning the ball over.”

Sophomore attacker Tess Osburn was able to cut the deficit with two goals and Marquette went into the locker rooms only down 9-8.

Colorado’s campaign

In the third quarter, the possession time was a lot more even and both teams exchanged charges down the field. The only difference: shot efficiency.

The Buffaloes converted nine shots into five goals while the Golden Eagles only scored once off four shots.

This campaign would be stopped at the 10:09 mark of the final frame as Marquette scored twice in eight seconds thanks to CJ Meehan and Steiner, cutting Colorado’s lead to 15-11.

Fastbreak goal from Leigh💨💨#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/usUleNB5OM

— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) March 8, 2024

That would be the last time the Golden Eagles scored, though, as the Buffaloes cruised to their 17-11 win.

“Where we’re shooting at full power first half, we’re taking a little off of in the second half because we’re a little bit more tired,” Black said.

“At the same time we went 3-for-10 on free position shots. We would like to be around 50%, so those and so that hurt us too. I think we still had some good looks there in the second half, but we just didn’t put them away like we did in the first.”

Goalie decisions

Junior Brynna Nixon was in net for the entirety of the game against Colorado. But in total this season, she’s been sharing more time with sophomore Ava Sprinkel than in 2023. Last season, Sprinkel was only in net for 7% of the time, but now that number is 30%.

“We are definitely on day by day with that I think, so we’ll see,” Black said. “Ava has been great coming off the bench for us, so we have a lot of confidence in her.

“Obviously, Brynna is a great goalie too, so we have a lot of confidence in both of them. I think we’re trying to figure out what’s best for the team at this point.”