(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) – The Marquette University men’s lacrosse team (0-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) plays its first road contest of the season on Saturday when the team travels to Cleveland State (0-3, 0-0 NEC) for a 12 p.m. CT machup.
LAST TIME OUT
Marquette dropped a 16–11 decision to No. 6/7 Notre Dame on Feb. 14 at Valley Fields. After conceding three early goals, the Golden Eagles answered to tie the game at 3–3 and trailed just 8–6 at halftime in a tightly contested first half. Marquette even battled back to tie the game at 8–8 in the third quarter, but Notre Dame responded with a decisive run late in the period and maintained control down the stretch to secure the win.
Offensively, Carsen Brandt and Beau Westphal each recorded hat tricks, while Tucker Mullen produced a career-high four points to pace the attack. Marquette also received 10 saves from Lucas Lawas and narrowly won the faceoff battle, but Notre Dame’s timely scoring runs in the second half proved to be the difference.
ROAD OPENER HISTORY
The Marquette Golden Eagles men’s lacrosse program has found steady success when opening seasons away from home, posting an 8–5 record in road openers since the team’s inaugural campaign in 2013. In recent years, the Golden Eagles have gone 2–3 in such games from 2021-25, with results alternating each season.
This season’s matchup marks the first road opener at the Cleveland State since 2020, when Marquette earned an 11–10 overtime victory.
HISTORY VS. CLEVELAND STATE
Marquette holds a 3–1 all-time advantage over the Cleveland State Vikings in a series that began in 2019. After dropping the inaugural meeting, the Golden Eagles have won three straight matchups, outscoring Cleveland State 36–22 during that stretch and building its current three-game winning streak in the series.
The two programs last met on Feb. 22, 2025, in Milwaukee, where Marquette earned its largest margin of victory in the series, a 15–7 win. The only prior meeting in Cleveland came in the 2020 season opener, when Marquette claimed an 11–10 overtime decision.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State enters the matchup at 0–3 on the young 2026 season, falling to Denver (1–20), No. 10 Ohio State (7–17), and Bellarmine (7–10). Through three games, the Vikings have been outscored 47–15 and own the second-lowest clearing percentage in the country among teams that have played three or more contests.
Sophomore midfielder Adam Van Voorhis leads the Vikings in scoring with seven points and is coming off a five-point performance against Bellarmine. Defensively, Griffin Valli leads the team with four caused turnovers, all recorded in the Bellarmine game.
TRANSFER ADDS EARLY SPARK
With the Golden Eagles graduating its all-time points and goals leader, Bobby O’Grady, head coach Jake Richard looked to a mix of returning underclassmen and a key addition in junior attackman Tucker Mullen, a transfer from the University of Virginia. Mullen appeared in 12 games during his time at UVA, with his availability limited after undergoing open-heart surgery in 2023 following a diagnosis of coronary artery anomaly, a congenital condition that often goes undetected.
Coming out of high school, Mullen was rated the No. 55 overall prospect and No. 14 attackman nationally by Inside Lacrosse and earned Under Armour All-American honors. Now wearing No. 13 for MU, the same number worn by O’Grady, Mullen has made an immediate impact for Marquette, highlighted by a career-high four-point performance against Notre Dame in just his second game with the program.
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