MLAX Opens BIG EAST Play Saturday against St. John’s

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men’s lacrosse team begins BIG EAST Conference play on Saturday against St. John’s at Valley Fields.

The game is the first of a doubleheader with the MU women’s program and is set for an 11 a.m. Central time faceoff inside the seasonal dome. The contest airs live on FloCollege with Matt Menzl and Eric Simon on the call of a broadcast produced by Marquette’s Diederich College of Communications. Live statistics are available through GoMarquette.com.

MU then welcomes No. 17/15 Georgetown next Saturday, April 5 before hitting the road for a pair of league contests at Providence and Villanova.

MARQUETTE (5-3, 0-0 BIG EAST)

• The Golden Eagles are 5-3 following three straight victories over Bellarmine, Utah and Air Force. MU’s three losses have come on the road at then-No. 15 Michigan, No. 1 Notre Dame and then-No. 13/12 Harvard.
• As a team, the Golden Eagles are second in the nation on man-up opportunities with a .650 success rate (13-of-20).
• MU is also 12th in the nation in faceoff winning percentage (.582).
• Senior attackman Nolan Rappis is MU’s point leader (21-13-34) and set a program single-game record with 10 points (five goals, five assists) in the win over UDM on Feb. 8. He tied that goal mark on March 4 against Bellarmine to earn his third BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll mention of the season.
• Senior attackman Bobby O’Grady broke Ryan McNamara‘s career points record of 152 against Bellarmine with eight points on a hat trick and career-high five assists. O’Grady was named to the league honor roll for the second time in as many weeks for the accomplishment.
• Senior midfielder Will Foster and junior goalie Lucas Lawas were each named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday for their roles in MU’s 9-8 win over Air Force on March 22. Foster posted a game-best five points on two goals and three assists, while Lawas notched 15 saves and held the Falcons scoreless for the final 19:12.
• Foster is among MU’s all-time leaders in goals, assists and total points. His 45 career assists are fourth in program history, while he sits eight in points (93) and 10th in goals (48).
• O’Grady, senior midfielder Will Foster and junior short-stick defensive midfielder Peter Detwiler are team captains for the 2025 campaign.
• Former MU USILA All-American Jake Richard, a Team USA and PLL defensive midfielder, is in his first season as head coach at his alma mater. Richard has been involved with all 170 games in program history as either a student-athlete (2013-16) or assistant coach (2017-24). During his playing career, he led MU to the program’s first BIG EAST Conference title in 2016 and still ranks among MU’s all-time leaders in games played (fourth, 61), ground balls (fourth, 193), and caused turnovers (sixth, 38).

ST. JOHN’S (4-6, 0-0 BIG EAST)

• The Red Storm has won its last two games over Mercer, 20-16, and Hobart, 13-11, after a string of five-straight losses which included overtime decisions to Hofstra (Feb. 22) and Jacksonville (Feb. 28). SJU has played a pair of ranked opponents in then-No. 18/16 Delaware on Feb. 15 and then-No. 17 Fairfield on March 4.
• Brian Kelly‘s 25 goals, 20 assists and 45 total points lead St. John’s, while Ryan Ormond has scored 21 goals.
• Head coach Justin Turri is in his third season leading the Red Storm after stints as an assistant coach at Michigan, Harvard, Army and Providence. He was a two-time All-American and NCAA National Champion at Duke as a student-athlete.

HISTORY WITH THE RED STORM

• Marquette is 10-2 all-time against St. John’s in a series that began during MU’s first season of competition in 2013.
• The Red Storm defeated MU, 13-9, last season in Queens, New York to snap a 10-game winning streak by the Golden Eagles.
• That loss was MU’s first to SJU in BIG EAST Conference play as MU competed as an independent during its first season in 2013.
• The 2022 and 2023 meetings included prolific offensive performances by the Golden Eagles, who rolled up 23-13 and 20-10 victories, respectively.
• O’Grady set MU’s single-game goal scoring record with eight in the 2022 matchup, bettering the previous mark of seven, which Andy Demichiei originally set in the 2016 contest in Queens.
• Career vs. SJU:
  • Carsen Brandt: 1 GP, 1g, 1a
  • Peter Detwiler: 2 GP, 2 gb
  • Will Foster: 3 GP, 5g, 5a, 10 pts
  • David Lamarca: 3 GP, 7 gb, 2 ct
  • Bobby O’Grady: 3 GP, 15g, 2a, 17 pts, 2 gb
  • Mike Piraino: 2 GP, 4 gb, 1 ct

OFFENSIVE DEPTH EMERGING

• O’Grady has been one of the most productive players since bursting onto the scene with a program-record 45 goals as a freshman in 2022. This season his fellow attackmen, Rappis and Carsen Brandt, have come into their own and have led the way for the Golden Eagles.
• Rappis leads MU with 34 points through eight games, while O’Grady has 27 and Matt Caputo (21), Will Foster (21) and Carsen Brandt (20) are each at 20 or better.
• The Golden Eagles are also able to roll two productive midfield lines for the first time in recent memory with freshman Noah Snyder and sophomore Beau Westphal each providing significant offense.
• Snyder was the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Feb. 24 after posting the first five points of his NCAA career in a 15-7 win over Cleveland State with a hat trick and two assists.
• Caputo and Foster anchor the first midfield.

RAPPIS IS A REVELATION

• Senior attackman Nolan Rappis is Marquette’s point leader early in the 2025 campaign after little offensive production during his first three seasons on campus. The native of nearby Delafield, Wisconsin is an ambidextrous X attackman and has developed a quick rapport to MU’s young but talented offensive unit.
• He is the team leader with 34 total points on 21 goals and 13 assists through eight games.
• Rappis entered 2025 with just 16 total points in 19 career contests and currently is the BIG EAST leader in goals per game (2.63) and second in points per contest (4.25).
• Rappis was named to the USILA Team of the Week and earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition for his play against Detroit Mercy on Feb. 8. He was also on the league honor roll for posting six points in the win over Cleveland State (2g, 4a) on Feb. 22 and against Bellarmine (5g, 1a) on March 4.

Keep up with the Marquette men’s lacrosse program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteMLax) and Instagram (@MarquetteMLax) and ‘liking’ on Facebook (/MarquetteMLax).

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.