Looks like the Golden Eagles need a win on national television to clinch their spot in the Big East semifinals
This is, believe it or not, the Big East schedule finale for Marquette women’s lacrosse. They have one more contest next week, but that’s a non-conference bout at Eastern Michigan. Saturday — on national television! — is MU’s last chance to put themselves into the four team Big East tournament before the rest of the league wraps up the regular season amongst themselves next week.
The Golden Eagles go into Saturday in fourth place in the Big East at 3-2 after their thriller of a win against UConn last week. Georgetown — hey, that’s Saturday’s opponent! — is a half game ahead of MU at 3-1, while UConn is half a game back at 2-2. Marquette can clinch a spot in the Big East tournament with a win, because as luck would have it, UConn and Georgetown play each other in their finales. If MU locks in their record at 4-2 while dropping Georgetown to a second loss, that means that either the Hoyas or the Huskies have to finish with three losses next week, and that means that squad would be behind Marquette without the use of a tiebreaker.
It’s hard to knock “hey, go win a game” in order to settle out whether or not there’s going to be postseason lacrosse for Meredith Black’s squad. It wouldn’t be a terrible thing if there gets to be at least one more game in the career of Meg Bireley as she continues to extend Marquette’s career records for both points (252) and goals (201) just a little bit further out. That would give Bireley one extra game to take a swing at Mary Schumar’s single season points record of 89, not to mention let her take a crack at the single season goals record that Bireley herself set last year at 69 in one campaign.
That’s what could be possible for Marquette, but in order to get there, they have to get the win on Saturday. It might not be a picnic or a walk in the park, but after the Golden Eagles were able to buckle down and get that win over the Huskies last Saturday, it’s hard to say that they don’t have getting one more Big East win this year in them.
Big East Game #6: at Georgetown Hoyas (8-6, 3-1 Big East)
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025
Time: 11am Central
Location: Cooper Field, Washington, D.C.
Television: FS1
Streaming: FoxSports.com/live or the Fox Sports app
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter Updates: @MarquetteWLax
Marquette is 4-10 all time against Georgetown. The series started heavily in the Hoyas’ direction, as they won the first six meetings, three by just one goal, including one in overtime. That OT game was the last of the six, back in 2018, and the two sides have been trading wins back and forth ever since. Georgetown won last year’s game, so maybe that means it’s Marquette’s turn?
Yes, Georgetown’s 8-6 overall record does not look so shiny, even if the Hoyas are just a half game back of first place in the Big East standings right now. You have to give them a little bit of a pass, though. They have losses to teams that are currently #8 (Maryland), #10 (Johns Hopkins), #11 (James Madison), #15 (Loyola MD), and #24 (Denver) in the Inside Lacrosse media poll. GU tried something with their non-conference schedule and came up wildly empty, and their double-overtime loss to a Towson squad that’s only 6-7 on the year isn’t helping things out.
Marquette’s biggest problem here is going to be figuring out how to defend the Hoyas. Georgetown is ranked #28 in offensive efficiency by Lacrosse Reference, and that’s clearly their stronger side of the field. Hanna Bishop and Anne McGovern are teaming up to provide 3.93 points per game by way of their assists only, as they rank #3 and #4 in the Big East there. They’re #1 and #2 in points on the GU stat sheet, but neither one is even the second best goal scorer on the team. Gracie Driggs leads Georgetown with 43 goals this season, and her per game clip has her ranked fifth in the conference. Sophia Loschert beats out both Bishop and McGovern in total goals, with all 26 of Loschert’s coming in a reserve role off the bench. Do you figure out how to make life hard for Driggs and Loschert, or do you worry about the passers and try to deny Bishop and McGovern from finding shooters? All told, Georgetown has 105 assists on the 163 non-free position attempt goals they’ve scored this season, so “get it to the cutter” is clearly an important part of what they’re doing, no matter who is playing which part.
Leah Warehime has played all but about 40 minute in net for the Hoyas this season, and those losses have affected her numbers. The 11.09 goals against average isn’t the worst thing, but I would have to imagine that Marquette’s shooters are seeing that .404 save percentage and licking their chops. If MU can get their hands on the ball — Georgetown is #23 in the country in time of possession — they should be able to find ways to beat Warehime.
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