Marquette Can’t Get A Flow Going Against #15 Jacksonville

You know what really puts a damper on a day? Turning on the stream for the men’s lacrosse game that you were really looking forward to watching and seeing video that was spitting and choppy. An update to the video every other second, so the players and officials were teleporting around on the field. It was so bad that they actually turned comments off in the middle of the game because the comments were just comments about how bad it was. Even worse, the audio quality is absolutely perfect, so you know it’s just the video not being properly processed for upload. It’s still up on JU’s YouTube page if you’re so inclined to see what I mean. It was so bad that they actually turned comments off in the middle of the game because the comments were just comments about how bad it was.

That was what we got for Marquette men’s lacrosse and their visit to #15 Jacksonville on Saturday. Completely and utterly unwatchable.

Can’t say the same for Marquette’s play, though. Sure, the Golden Eagles took a 14-10 loss to the Dolphins, but it was a pretty close game all the way through, or at least that’s what I saw on the live stats since the stream was useless. Marquette drops to 1-1 on the season, but I think this is more of a “this is how close we are” type of game for Marquette.

It was a great lacrosse game in terms of drama through the first two quarters. Neither side had more than a one goal advantage until a goal from JU’s Jack Dolan with 6:41 left in the second made it a 7-5 ballgame favoring the home team, and even then, Marquette’s Devon Cowan scored the first of his two goals in the game right before the halftime horn to make it a 7-6 contest at the intermission. The goal by Cowan extends his scoring streak to 19 consecutive games, which is pretty damn impressive.

Look at how pretty that video should have looked coming through JU’s YouTube channel.

The third quarter was Marquette’s problem quarter, although the fact that MU only scored consecutive goals once in the first half might have been a bigger problem in the big picture of the game. Jacksonville’s Jacob Greiner started off the scoring in the second half at the 11:05 mark of the third quarter, and his goal was the first of three straight for the ‘Phins. 10-6 Jacksonville, 7:05 to play in the period. Not ideal, and when JU scored three more on the other side of a Cowan man-up goal, even worse. 13-7 with just under two minutes left in the quarter, but Griffin Fries tallied a goal with less than a minute left to make it a five goal game heading to the fourth.

Luke Blanc broke open the fourth quarter scoring, and a man-up goal from Pierce Washburn, his first career goal for Marquette, made it a 13-10 game with 9:29 to play. Three straight for Marquette, and the Golden Eagles were rolling.

Or so it seemed.

I already told you the final, so you’ve already realized that Washburn’s goal was the final one of the game for Marquette. They had their chances. MU won the ensuing faceoff, but Luke Williams turned it over. MU induced a turnover from Jacksonville to kill off a penalty against Anthony Courcelle, but three straight shots by MU after that turnover were saved by JU’s Ryan Della Rocco. Marquette forced the Dolphins into a shot clock violation, but their one shot went wide before Hayden Miller had it poked away. MU got another turnover out of Jacksonville, but Della Rocco made two more saves.

2:33 to go. Jacksonville burned off the entire shot clock. 1:49 to go.

Quality chances across seven minutes, nearly eight if you count that final JU possession. Nothing doing. Marquette couldn’t launch the final salvos of a massive rally, and Max Waldbaum iced the game for the Dolphins with a goal with exactly 60 seconds left to play.

Luke Blanc ended up with the top points total on the day for MU with two goals and an assist, while Cowan and Bobby O’Grady matched him in the goals department. Zach Granger was running around with a pitchfork out there, picking up four ground balls to lead MU there, while Logan Kreinz contributed to the effort with a team high two caused turnovers. Luke Williams and Thomas Washington split the 28 faceoffs mostly straight down the middle, and they split them with their JU counterparts, 14 to both sides. Michael Allieri made the start in net again for Marquette, and went the full 60 minutes while making 12 saves, including six in the second quarter alone to keep the Golden Eagles within shouting distance.

Up Next: It’s home opener time! Marquette will be at Valley Fields for a 1pm Central time start this coming Saturday, February 26, when they host Utah. The Utes are 1-1 on the year with a one goal loss to then-#12 Denver at home and a one goal win over then-#17 Vermont on the road. That game against the Catamounts was on February 12th, and Utah hasn’t and won’t play again until they’re in Milwaukee.

If anybody needs me, I will be quietly judging whoever decided to have a home lacrosse game start one hour after the National Marquette Day men’s basketball game against Butler. I don’t know about anybody else, but I would have jumped at the chance for a 9am start for MLax and then go straight to Fiserv For the basketball game.