Joe Dunn (Marquette) celebrates the win over Denver in the 2017 BIG EAST Men's Lacrosse Championship Semifinal.
Fourth-Seeded Marquette Upsets Top Seed Denver In First #BIGEASTmlax Semifinal
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The fourth-seeded Golden Eagles found themselves in a similar situation as a year a go in the league’s postseason tournament; an appearance in the final of the BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep. This year, Marquette defeated No. 1 Denver, 11-8, to make it to Championship Saturday, marking the second-straight year the Golden Eagles defeated the Pioneers in the tournament.
Last year, Marquette defeated Denver,10-9 in the Championship game.
Marquette (7-7) is the first No. 4 seed to advance to the championship final since St. John’s defeated top seed Notre Dame, 8-7, in the 2012 semifinals.
Marquette is also the only team in the league to have defeated Denver and after Thursday, they have won twice.
The game was tied at 5-5 at halftime; Marquette had led 2-1 in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles kept their advantage in the third, scoring three goals to Denver’s one.
Marquette sophomore midfielder John Wagner scored four goals. Goalie Cole Blazer, a 2017 All-BIG EAST Second Team member made 12 saves. Blazer did not make one save in last week's regular-season final against Denver. On Thursday night, he made four pivotal stops in the fourth quarter as MU held the Pioneers off the board for the final 11 minutes.
Denver (11-3) scored the game’s first goal, but never led by more than one with their last lead coming at 5-4 on Tyler Pace's tally at the 4:49 mark of the second quarter. The senior’s hat trick led Denver, which entered the tilt on six-game winning streak, while Connor Cannizzaro also had three markers, including DU’s final goal to tie the game, 8-8, with 11:34 remaining.
Marquette's Wagner posted the eventual game winner with 8:12 left at the edge of the crease from Dunn and Ryan McNamara tallied the day’s final marker with just over four to play.
The game was dramatically different than the one Denver and Marquette played five days ago in Milwaukee where the Pioneers defeated the Golden Eagles, 16-8.
The Golden Eagles are 3-2 all time in the BIG EAST Championship heading into Saturday’s final. Marquette has made the BIG EAST Championship in each year since joining the league in 2014.
Marquette will face the winner of the second semifinal, No. 2 seed Villanova vs. No. 3 seed Providence at 4:30 p.m. on FS2. Denver, ranked second nationally will await their fate in Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show.