Not since 2023 has Marquette women’s lacrosse made the Big East tournament.
Saturday, as it welcomed No. 24 Villanova to Valley Fields for its third to last game, it was tested how bad it wanted that postseason play. The Golden Eagles had an opportunity to begin securing fourth place in the Big East — the last placed team to get a ticket to the tournament.
With its 16-9 win against the Wildcats (its first win against a ranked opponent since No. 24 UConn April 2023), Marquette is one big step closer to a chance of playing in May.
A combination of clutch goalkeeping from first-year Jillian Howell and efficient shooting kept Marquette competitive early. Coming into this match, the Golden Eagles were No. 25 nationally and No. 2 in the Big East in shot percentage (.461).
All of the Golden Eagles’ first three shots on goal were scored, two of which came from fifth-year midfielder Hanna Bodner, while Howell had already grabbed four saves by the time Marquette was up 3-2. At that same point, over 14 minutes into the match, Wildcat goalie Allie Bell notched her first.
Then, Marquette showed how badly it wanted postseason play.
Out of the next 11 goals, the Golden Eagles claimed nine with the assistance of six unique scorers to lead 12-4. During that 18-minute run spanning the second and third quarter, Marquette outshot Villanova 11-4, Bodner scored four goals and Bell only made two saves. By the end of the first half, Howell had made eight.
Q2 | MU 11, Villanova 4
HAT TRICK for Bodner! 🎩#WeAreMarquette | #MarquetteWLAX pic.twitter.com/F1uiUtscth
— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) April 4, 2026
Despite Villanova’s offensive effort in the second half, Marquette was able to void any opposing scores. In the final 30 minutes, the Golden Eagles scored five times and tallied 11 shots (junior midfielder Riley Jenkins earned the second hat trick of her career) while the Wildcats notched five and 12 respectively.
Q3 | MU 14, Villanova 6
HAT TRICK for Jenkins! 🎩#WeAreMarquette | #MarquetteWLAX pic.twitter.com/3kirMszr9Y
— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) April 4, 2026
As the buzzer rang out, every Marquette player cheered and ran out toward center field to celebrate around Howell, who matched a career-high 11 saves.
Marquette’s path to the postseason
With two games left in the season, Marquette is 2-2 in conference play.
In that duo of games, the Golden Eagles play Butler (3-10, 0-3) next Saturday at 2 p.m. CST at Valley Fields, before traveling to UConn (4-8, 1-3) April 25 in the regular season finale. If it wins both those games, it will make the Big East tournament.
Marquette’s closest competitors for the final spot in the conference tourney are UConn and Xavier (3-11, 1-3). Saturday, Xavier lost against Georgetown 19-1 (the same Georgetown team that beat Marquette only 11-10), and UConn lost against the Hoyas 18-7 in early March.
This recap was written by Benjamin Hanson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @benhansonMU.
