Founded 2011 Conference Big East Coach Joe Amplo (5th) | University Marquette University Location Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
Stadium Valley Fields
(capacity: 2,000) | ||
The Marquette Golden Eagles men's lacrosse team represents Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. The Golden Eagles play their home games at Valley Fields starting in 2016 and are currently coached by Joe Amplo.
Contents
Starting a program
Marquette started talking about adding a new program to its offerings in the summer of 2010. The athletic department eventually settled on lacrosse since the school lacked a spectator spring sport, and by September the move was approved by the Board of Trustees. The University partnered with former college head coach Dave Cottle, who led the search committee for the program's first coach. Marquette introduced former Hofstra assistant Joe Amplo as head coach on February 27, 2011.
2015: Put on the map
The first two years of play for the Golden Eagles went as expected. Marquette went 5–8 in its first season, earning the program's first victory on March 2, 2013 against Air Force, and 6–10 in the second season. It was 2015 when Amplo and his team started turning heads.
Marquette started its season defeating two straight ranked opponents, No. 18/16 Lehigh and No. 17/19 Hofstra. On February 16 the Golden Eagles entered the media and coaches' top 20 for the first time in program history. They would move as high as 9th in the media poll.
However, Marquette couldn't hold on down the stretch. Losses to Georgetown, Bellarmine, Notre Dame, Duke and Denver ended the Golden Eagles tournament hopes.
Tournament Time
Despite the strong 2015 season, Marquette hadn't accomplished its goal of making the NCAA Tournament. The team wouldn't have to wait much longer.
After defeating Villanova in the first round of the BIG EAST tournament, the Golden Eagles shocked the lacrosse community on May 7, 2016, defeating then-No. 1 Denver 10-9 for the Golden Eagles' first BIG EAST title. The loss was the first for Denver in their three years of BIG EAST play and the Pioneers first home loss in 22 games. The win was only the second for a Marquette program over a top ranked team, and the first since the men's basketball team took down Kentucky in 2003. Liam Byrnes was named the tournament's most valuable player.
The win propelled the Golden Eagles from an on-the-bubble team to the sixth best seed and Marquette's first tournament appearance in just its fourth season of play. Marquette hosted its first NCAA Tournament game on May 14, 2016, a 10–9 loss to perennial powerhouse North Carolina. The Tar Heels would go on to defeat Maryland 14-13 in overtime for their first NCAA title since 1991.
Annual Records
Golden Eagles in the Pros
Three Golden Eagles have been drafted in the Major League Lacrosse Draft and four in the National Lacrosse League Draft. The following Golden Eagles players were selected in the Major League Lacrosse Draft:
The following Golden Eagles players were selected in the National Lacrosse League Draft: