It was a different kind of loss for Marquette women’s lacrosse.

Not one fueled by an inability to score or defend. But rather one due to a lack of discipline.

“We had a lot of fouls and made decisions that weren’t in the game plan,” Marquette head coach Meredith Black said. “That hurts us and we lost the ball because of it or went man down or something. That was tough.”

In failing to shut down Georgetown’s offense and make shots, the Golden Eagles (5-10) would fall to the Hoyas (6-9), 18-11.

“It’s just frustrating because we know what we’re capable of,” senior midfielder Josie Kropp said. “It’s tough to see Marquette beat Marquette, we beat ourselves. We’re gonna take the good from the game, and learn from the bad.”

Mistakes lose games

While the Golden Eagles only trailed by two in every quarter of the game, the Hoyas were always one too many steps ahead.

Where Marquette struggled was in gaining momentum, especially in making shots. While it shot 76% (13-for-17) throughout the first half, it would decline to 58% (10-for-17) in the second.

And the Golden Eagles’ foul and turnover problems didn’t help, either.

They committed 26 penalties in the game and lost the turnover battle 18-10.

Towards the end of the fourth quarter, Leigh Steiner, Campbell Brown and Meg Bireley were all given cards within seconds of each other.

“We really struggled to gain momentum. If we had a big play we would then loose the ball too quickly or turn it over,” Black said. “I feel like we really struggled to build off of each other’s successes. That was the game plan and we did not execute in that matter.”

Controlling the draw (and records)

Josie Kropp came into today’s match five draws away from tying the program’s single season record set by Grace Gabriel in 2019.

Not only did she tie the record, but shatter it, earning 11 throughout the game.

“I’m not surprised one bit and I’m so proud of her,” Black said. “She’s worked really hard to get that accolade.”

Draw 👑

120 draws this season for Josie is the most in a single season in program history ‼️#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/YERBPM3wW5

— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) April 13, 2024

Marquette’s success within the draw circle would be a bright spot of the match as it would control the dot, 21-12.

“It’s super exciting, I’m very grateful for the season I’ve been able to have,” Kropp said. “I’ll say it a hundred times over but it’s all my teammates. They push me to do better everyday and they give me confidence which is something that’s not easy to have especially going into Big East play like this.”

Up next

The Golden Eagles travel to Cincinnati for a Big East matchup against Xavier on Saturday. First draw is scheduled for 11 a.m. CST.

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