(Photo Courtesy of Marquette Athletics)

Welcome to the Fall Snapshot series. Throughout the fall I will be taking an early look at all 76 DI men’s college lacrosse teams and giving a snapshot of where each is heading into the 2024 season.

Head Coach: Andrew Stimmel (Fifth Year, 2020-Present)

Marquette 2023 Record: 6-8 (1-4 Big East)

Key Departures: Jackson Rose (A), Michael Alleri (G)

Key Returners: Bobby O’Grady (A), Jake Stegman (A), Mason Woodward (D)

Transfer Additions: Caleb Creasor (G, Lehigh)

Staff Changes: N/A

The 2023 season proved to be the Golden Eagles’ best yet under head coach Andrew Stimmel. Marquette went 6-8 overall (1-4 Big East) and recorded a pair of upset wins against Big Ten teams in neutral site contest, topping Michigan 14-9 in Naples, Fla., before taking down Penn State 12-11 on Long Island.

While Marquette showed to be an improved team in 2023 and had some high points, the Golden Eagles’ season ended under rather disappointing circumstances. As the host site of the Big East Tournament, Marquette would not be playing as they recorded just a single win in league play (20-10 vs St. John’s). However, the Golden Eagles weren’t far off as they fell to Georgetown, Villanova, and Denver all by one goal to end the season. They also dropped a 16-14 decision to Providence earlier in the year.

Marquette came as close as they ever have been to being a serious threat to the upper-tier of the Big East during the Stimmel era. After coming up short time and time again last spring, this program will surely be looking to flip the script in 2024.

Burning Questions

How Much Better Can The Offense Get?

The Golden Eagles put up 13.29 goals per game as the 23rd best scoring offenses in DI (2nd in Big East). They also posted a team shooting percentage of 34% which was good for sixth nationally and best in the Big East. Against only Big East teams, they put up an average of 15.6 goals per game and posted a team shooting percentage of 38.3%. Both were league best against only league competition. A year prior Marquette was more middle-of-the-road in those statistical categories both nationally and conference-wide as they averaged 10.4 goals per game and had a 26% team shooting percentage.

Marquette’s offenses this past spring was led by the trio of Bobby O’Grady (43G/6A), Jake Stegman (17G/32A), and Devon Cowan (16G/4A). They combined for 128 points (86 goals) to claim 46% of the Golden Eagles’ offensive production. O’Grady was the headliner of the group

Coming into the 2024 season, Marquette is set to return all three of those aforementioned top point-getters as well as Will Foster and Luke Blanc who were also top-five scorers for the Golden Eagles in 2023. Jackson Rose is the only top-10 scorers whom Marquette looses. With as so much returning after a season of improvement on that end, this squad will want to take and even bigger step in 2024.

What’s The Situation in Cage?

Michael Allieri served as the Golden Eagles’ primary starting goalie each of the past two seasons. He made 97 saves with a 47% save percentage as he played and started in all but the final three games of the season. He heads to Boston U. as a transfer, leaving Milwaukee with a career total of 289 saves with a 49.3% save percentage.

The Golden Eagles return two players at the position from a year ago, add one freshmen in Jack Kask (Georgetown Prep, Md.), and bring in a transfer at the position with Caleb Creasor arriving from Lehigh. Among the returners, Lucas Lawas saw the most action last season as he started each of the final games of the season (vs Georgetown, @ Villanova, vs Denver) and played in a total six games. That included playing the majority of the contest versus Providence. He made 54 saves with a 47% save percentage in his efforts, which included a pair of 15-save outings against Georgetown and Denver. Jamie Grant is the other returner and has seen minimal game action. Creasor played in a total of 17 games with one start during his four years at Lehigh.

Due to how last season ended for Marquette concerning the goalie spot and given the movement at the position this offseason, it will be an interesting storyline to watch heading into 2024.

Can Marquette Be a Threat in The Big East?

In short, the answer is clearly yes. As a program, Marquette has claimed a pair of Big East titles. As of late, the Golden Eagles have been on the outside looking in at that top tier. But they haven’t appeared to be that far off. That was especially true this past seas as the Golden Eagles came within a sings goal of Georgetown, Villanova, and Denver in their final three games of the year.

Following the season in which the Golden Eagles just posted, one of the biggest storylines surrounding this program will be whether or not they can turn those a few of those losses into wins. If so, a trip to the Big East tournament is likely and once on that stage in May, this Marquette squad could very well cause the same madness in May as they have in the past.

Potential Breakout Player

Will Foster, A/M, Junior

Foster was the Golden Eagles’ fourth-leading scorer last season with 23 points off 13 goals and 10 assists. The majority of that production, however, came during the second half of the season as he put up 15 points (10G/5A) came against Big East competition. He could very well see a bump in production this spring.

Freshman Class

Marquette signed a 13-man class in the 2023 cycle. The class is headlined by a pair of four-star recruits, per Inside Lacrosse, in LSM Bradley Johnson (Calvert Hall, Md.) and attackman Carsen Brandt (Benilde-St Margaret’s, Minn.).