Marquette’s men’s lacrosse (6-6) walked into Valley Fields Wednesday night with a conference record of 1-3, and walked out with a postseason berth.
If the Golden Eagles had wanted to make the Big East Tournament in their first year under head coach Jake Richard, they would have had to beat the Denver Pioneers, who led the all-time series against them 13-2.
As if those stakes weren’t enough, the stands on Canal street were packed more-so than usual for senior night, and the excitement among the Class of 2024 players as well as their families was palpable surrounding the pregame ceremony.
Despite the high stakes, Marquette pulled out the win, defeating Denver 18-11 in its final regular season game of the year.
POSTSEASON
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— Marquette Lacrosse (@MarquetteMLax) April 26, 2025
However, the Golden Eagles didn’t start the game like they would have hoped. The Pioneers scored in three of the game’s first four possessions before Richard called for timeout.
“We’ve had that situation a couple of times this year,” senior midfielder Will Foster said. “In a game like Utah, we go down, man, but we’re a team full of fighters.”
And as if nothing had happened at all, the Golden Eagles battled back.
Thank to senior attackers Bobby O’Grady and Nolan Rappis, Marquette got two goals within the next 24 seconds, and didn’t stop there. After leading 5-4 at the end of the first period, the completion of a first half hat-trick by Foster allowed the Golden Eagles to hit the halftime break with an 8-5 lead.
After Marquette finally started to see the light at the end of the must-win game, a visible confidence arose in the players as sophomore attacker Carsen Brandt’s two goals extended the lead to as far as five.
As the Pioneers started to gather a second wind in the fourth quarter and got within three goals, MU went on a 5-0 run to close out the remainder of the game. Rappis’s led the team with five goals and junior goalie Lucas Lawas earned 16 saves in the win.
As the overjoyed Golden Eagles sprinted off the sidelines in celebration having shown out on senior night, they knew that there was more to come as well as that their work was not quite done.
“I think it’s just more exciting, you know,” Richard said. “We know our opponents, and we have the week to make some adjustments. But we’re real excited to get another week together, spend time together, and chase a championship.”
Marquette will now travel to Denver to compete in the postseason tournament for the first time since 2022 in hopes of bringing home a conference championship for the first time since 2017. As the No. 4 seed, MU will face top-seeded No. 14 Georgetown May 1 at 5 p.m. CST on CBS Sports Network.
This article was written by Eamon Bevan. He can be reached at eamon.bevan@marquette.edu.
