Almost a year ago to the day, Marquette men’s lacrosse secured a spot in the Big East tournament for the first time under head coach Jake Richard.
The Golden Eagles (6-7, 2-3 Big East) had the opportunity to repeat history over the Denver Pioneers, the team that, almost a year ago, Marquette defeated to enter the postseason.
On Friday night, they were unable to, falling 10-9 to the Pioneers (6-7, 2-3 Big East).
Coming out of the gate fire-hot, the Golden Eagles quickly made their appearance in Denver noticeable.
Just 58 seconds into the first quarter, junior attacker Carsen Brandt and graduate student attacker Nolan Rappis netted a pair of goals within 20 seconds of each other. However, quickly after the fact, chaos in the midfield allowed redshirt junior attacker Cody Malawsky to capitalize, making it a 2-1 game.
As Marquette’s defense continued to settle, Malawsky carried the offense on his back, finishing off the quarter with all three of the Pioneers’ goals. The quick start the Golden Eagles had turned into a 3-3 game within the first 15 minutes of gameplay.
Scoreless throughout the second quarter, the Pioneers’ offense held most possessions. Despite each team turning five balls over apiece, Denver ripped through the shot attempts, 12 to Marquette’s six.
Fifty-eight was once again the magic number for Brandt, cutting the 5-3 deficit at halftime to one with a hat trick. But once again, Malawsky capitalized, building the gap out once again in the third.
Marquette was crawling with Pioneers, picking up just three ground balls and finding four shots on goal. With four seconds left, junior attacker Marek Tzagournis found the back of the net. One step forward, two steps back. The theme of the night.
The gap grew larger. The Golden Eagles were down facing the final 15 minutes.
Rappis posted a hat trick, and with just under six minutes of gameplay, junior midfielder Ethan Salvia gave Marquette a glimmer of hope. It was now a single-score game in the fourth.
Keeping possession after what was almost a turnover, senior attacker Andrew Bowman snuck the tying goal under the stick. Four minutes. Season on the line.
Who else, but the kryptonite for the Golden Eagles, Malawsky, to erase the hope that lingered in the air, pushing the Pioneers ahead 9-8. The final dagger was an open goal shot from Tzagournis with 22 seconds to put away the game, 10-8.
Taking possession with 15 seconds, Salvia tried to spark the hope once more, making it a 10-9 game.
Then the buzzer blared. It wasn’t Marquette cheering on the midfield.
And as the saying goes, “win or go home.” Marquette is on their way back to Milwaukee with no sight of post-season play in its future.
This story was written by Raquel Ruiz. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @RaquelRuizMU.
