Another Top 5 Opponent, Another Men's Lacrosse Loss

Three days after posting their season low in goals against #5/4 Notre Dame, Marquette got held to a new season low against #3/3 Denver, losing the game by a score of 15-4.

Strangely, the game seemed to be starting out like the Notre Dame game as well. The Pioneers scored first, but MU answered with a Jerry Nobile goal at the 8:02 mark of the first quarter. That's when a pattern emerged. Denver scored four goals and then Marquette broke their run with a goal of their own. This happened three times in total, putting MU in a 13-4 hole with 10 minutes left in the game.

In the category of upside, Marquette won more face-offs than Denver, 12-11, and had more ground balls as well, snagging 29 as opposed to 26 for the Pioneers. Even better news: Marquette took the advantage in both of those categories in the first half, before both teams starting dipping deep into their benches.

Tyler Melnyk had both of Marquette's second half goals to lead the Golden Eagles in scoring. Eric Law had four first half goals to power the Pioneer offense.

Up Next: Not another top five team, that's for sure. Marquette heads out to North Carolina on Saturday to play fellow first year program High Point (3-9). If you're looking for a comparison of the two programs, be sure to check out this post from College Crosse, the SB Nation college lacrosse site.