Marquette (8-3, 2-0 Big East) dominated Xavier (1-9, 0-2 Big East) for 30 minutes, building a 15-3 lead on its way to a 19-9 victory.
Starting quick
The Golden Eagles wasted no time forcing a turnover on Xavier’s first possession of the game. The turnover turned into a Meg Bireley goal, and after that, Marquette would score four consecutive goals to take a 5-0 lead five minutes and change into the game.
Xavier tried to hang tight with two first-quarter goals, but the Golden Eagles’ offensive firepower was too much to handle. In the first period, Bireley scored a hat trick, and junior attacker Tess Osburn scored a pair of goals. Ultimately, the Golden Eagles matched the Musketeers’ goal total in the first period with nine goals.
The second period was eerily similar. Marquette went on a 6-0 run after the Musketeers put in the period’s first goal. Bireley had three more goals, and Osburn scored another two. The Golden Eagles forced 13 first-half turnovers on their way to a 15-3 halftime lead.
Pressure defense on full display
Xavier won 18 draw controls to the Golden Eagles’ 14, but Marquette created extra possessions with stifling defense.
The Golden Eagles forced 22 Musketeer turnovers and directly caused 14 of those giveaways. Additionally, Marquette was actively getting loose balls, grabbing 29 ground balls to Xavier’s nine. 14 different Golden Eagles grabbed a ground ball, with senior midfielder Hannah Bodner leading the way with 5.
When the Musketeers got a chance to shoot (19 shots on goal), senior goalkeeper Bryanna Nixon and sophomore goalkeeper Mikayla Yang took care of the business. Nixon saved three of six shots (50 percent), and Yang saved seven of 13 shots (54 percent).
After the Golden Eagles got stops on defense, they were 15-of-15 on clears, their highest mark of the season.
Stars shine
Marquette’s preseason all-conference selections lived up to the hype.
First and foremost, Bireley led the way, scoring seven goals on 14 shots and dishing out an assist while having zero turnovers. Osburn was also excellent, contributing five goals in nine shots with an assist.
Other Golden Eagles stepped up, too. Bodner scored a hat trick and lit up the stat sheet, grabbing five ground balls, three draw controls, and assisting one goal. First-year attacker Tessa Boehm had three assists, and sophomore midfielder Lauren Grady scored once, dished two assists and grabbed two ground balls.
Next up
Next, the Golden Eagles (8-3, 2-0 Big East) face a significant in-conference challenge as they host Denver (7-4, 2-0 Big East) at Valley Field on April 2nd at noon CST. The matchup will greatly impact the Big East regular season champion race.
This story was written by Max Mullin. He can be reached at maxwell.mullin@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MullinMax.