Nine months ago, at Valley Fields in its last game of the season, Marquette women’s lacrosse was just three goals short of making the Big East Championships.
While the Golden Eagles had reached this goal in the previous two years, they could not convert in a win-or-go-home game with the Villanova Wildcats after posting a 6-11 overall and 2-4 conference record in 2024.
“The goal would be to win the Big East tournament [this year],” Marquette head coach Meredith Black said. “We didn’t reach our standard last year as a program. Everyone’s on board with that and knows that we want to be better and grow and learn from that experience and be better this year.”
This season, there are 12 first-years that have joined the squad for the 2025 campaign — four defenders, three attackers, one midfielder and one goalie.
“We want to connect as a team,” Black said. “We want to set a standard of excellence. We call it the gold standard. We want to be better than the best that’s done it in some ways or in multiple ways, if possible. It’s always about raising the bar and continuing to grow the program to be top 25 competitively. That’s important to us.”
Preseason honors
On Jan. 22, senior attacker Meg Bireley was named Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. This honor was achieved on the back of a season in which she led the conference in goals (69), which set a single-season program record for the Golden Eagles. She was the only player in the Big East to receive the Attacker of the Week honor three times.
Additionally, junior attacker Tess Osburn grabbed a Preseason All-Big East Team with 32 goals and seven assists last year.
“It makes us really excited,” Bireley said. “Practicing with this attack group all fall and spring, we feel really confident where we’re at and it’s really nice. Playing with Tess — this is my third year with her now — I’m really excited to play my last year with her.”
Attack: building off last year’s efficiency
In the Big East, Marquette’s offense was second in goals per game and first in shots per game last season.
The attackers that spearheaded this effort were Bireley, Osburn and former senior attacker Hannah Greving, who collectively made-up 46 percent of the team’s shots and 48 percent of its goals. Greving used up her eligibility after last season, so her absence will be replaced by experienced players such as Bireley and Osburn.
Other than them, players such as sophomore attacker CJ Meehan and junior attacker Isabelle Casucci will have a chance to take the stage. Both showed potential last season with a .42 and .66 shot to goal ratio, respectively.
“We recognize that every year, we’ve always had a really strong attack that is pretty tough in the Big East,” Bireley said. “We use that to help boost our confidence and keep going. We take a sense of pride in that. Every day, we’re trying to perfect our plays and get better. Being the best is something that we’re always working towards.”
Black mentioned that first-year attacker Tessa Boehm will be a high-minute attacker for the team right away. The Castle Rock, Colorado native holds the record for most assists (10) in a game and most points (14) in a game at her high school.
“[Boehm] came in ready to go and fit in really well with our attack,” Bireley said. “She doesn’t play like a freshman, so I’m really excited to see what she does this spring.”
Midfield: filling roles and leading a younger group
The biggest departure from the midfielder group over the offseason was 2024 All-Big East First Team and Big East Midfielder of the Year Leigh Steiner. Despite being a midfielder, her 5’11” size, ability to crash through defenders towards the net and 45 goals made her an asset for the Golden Eagles before she graduated.
Senior captain and midfielder Lorelai VanGuilder will be stepping into Josie Kropp’s role, who graduated last year, as the go-to draw specialist.
Additionally, sophomore midfielder Lauren Grady has been a standout in the preseason, armed to take the midfield spotlight this year.
“I think Lauren Grady has been awesome with stepping into a big role,” senior midfielder and captain Hanna Bodner said. “We just had a scrimmage this past weekend, and me and her were on the opposing side of VanGuilder. I think we were still able to find the ball on the ground, which has been awesome.
“The sophomore class middies have been really awesome and the middies in the junior class have also been really great leaders and pushing the growth that we found.”
The midfielder group is on the younger side with three first-years, four sophomores and only four upperclassmen.
Like last season, the midfield is going to continue to look for fast breaks and try at quick goals, but they have also worked on backup options that give time for the attack to set up and then run its offense.
Defense: new coach and transfers breed possibilities for success
Kaitlyn Huber and Faith Chmielewski, who both graduated last year, were the leaders in ground balls for the crew in 2024.
“It’s definitely been different [without Huber and Chmielewski], that’s for sure,” senior captain and defender Lily Dietrich said. “We’re pretty young, but we still have Sofia Santana and Mary Velner, who have a lot of experience under their belt. Even me too. I’ve been a friendly push. Us three have to step up in a leadership perspective.”
With Chmielewski’s and Huber’s departure, the group has been going all-in on their zone defense. Annie Carroll, the new defense and goalie coach who spent her last two seasons assistant coaching at UC Davis, has been helping with this effort.
“We’re sticking to what we know,” Dietrich said. “We do a really good zone, and we definitely are taking pride in that we’re good at it. We’re building on that, but it has been awesome to have Annie. She’s taking what she knows from her experience and we’re keeping what we know, but we’re mixing together.”
New defensive coach for Marquette women’s lacrosse, Annie Carroll, has been ramping up the squad’s zone defense potential for this season.
“She’s taking what she knows and we’re keeping what we know—we’re mixing it together,” senior captain defender Lily Dietrich said.#muwlax pic.twitter.com/eeuj6P87sn
— Ben Hanson (@benhansonMU) February 6, 2025
Graduate student defender Devon Ortman transferred from Colorado College where she played her past three seasons. During that time, she notched 278 draw controls, 124 ground balls, 56 goals and 66 assists. She will be starting for the Golden Eagles to begin the 2025 campaign.
Another new face is first-year defender Addyson Graham, who hails from Liverpool, New York and will be getting heavy time on the field to start the season according to Black.
Goalie: a competitive position
Last season, senior goalie Brynna Nixon played 71% of the time in net for Marquette, making an average of 5.8 saves per game and allowing 15.6 goals per matchup. Sophomore goalie Mikayla Yang got the second most time behind the net in 2024, playing in five games.
For 2025, Black said that it will be a week-by-week decision for who earns the spot. Yang is a lefty and Nixon a righty, so Black said the opposing team’s shooting style might play into starting goalie decisions and in-game swaps.
“I think Mikayla and Brynna are both tight,” Black said. “They’re different players and they have different styles, but they’re both good. They’ve both had a great preseason and a great fall. So that’ll be a competitive position.
“I think Brynna has a little bit of a lead from the leadership standpoint. She’s good at commanding the defense and being a big presence on the field. But Michaela makes a lot of saves and she makes good saves. I think it’ll be a position to watch for our team this year.”
The goalie group grew from three last season to four this season, adding first-year Zoey Gottlieb.
“I think we’re gonna do absolutely phenomenal this year,” Nixon said. “Last year, it’s no secret, we kind of struggled, even as a whole team, but especially in the goalie group. This year, we’ve definitely made it a point to improve on that end, so that we can have our defense’s back and try and set the rest of the team up for success.”
Season’s start
The Golden Eagles will play an exhibition game against UChicago Feb. 8 at 11 a.m. CST at Valley Fields. They open the 2025 season Feb. 12 when they face off against the Central Michigan Chippewas in Mount Pleasant, Michigan at 1 p.m. CST.
Follow @benhansonMU for live updates and takeaways from @MUWireSports on Marquette’s opening day exhibition game against UChicago at Valley Fields.
This season preview was written by Benjamin Hanson. They can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @benhansonMU.
