Almost a year ago to the day, there was a seismic shift inside the Marquette men’s lacrosse program.
The Golden Eagles were coming off another season in which they missed the Big East Tournament and had also just lost 19 seniors. On the heels of that came the announcement that Andrew Stimmel was stepping down from the head coaching role.
With the program in sort of a limbo, it was unclear what to expect from MU heading into 2025. Big East coaches agreed, picking Marquette to finish in a tie for last with St. John’s.
Fast forward to Friday night at Valley Fields, where the Golden Eagles punched their ticket to the Big East Tournament for the first time since 2022. Under the lights, Marquette and Denver were both playing for their playoff lives, and it was MU that came out on top thanks to a dominant senior night performance.
“I’m just so happy for our team,” MU head coach Jake Richard said after the game. “They’ve done everything the right way all year, all summer, game after game. They were trusting and energetic every day and they did everything the right way.
“It was unclear if we were going to get an opportunity like this today, but to be able to point to something and say was the team that changed the story here at Marquette, and winning tonight against Denver to punch a ticket to the Big East Tournament, it was amazing and I’m glad we have that validation.”
Richard, who was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach just three weeks after Stimmel’s departure, has experienced the highs and lows of being at the helm of a program in his first season with the Golden Eagles.
There have certainly been high points for Marquette, who got off to its best nine-game start since 2017 after posting wins against programs that had plagued it in recent years, such as Utah and Bellarmine. The Golden Eagles took nationally ranked Harvard down the wire before eventually losing 20-16. MU also took Big East regular season champion Georgetown to double overtime before running out of gas and eventually falling 10-9.
But there have also been some extremely deflating moments for the Golden Eagles this year, including getting thumped 14-1 by Michigan in the team’s lowest scoring effort in program history in the season opener. Marquette also put up the program’s second-worst scoring performance just over two weeks ago in a 14-2 loss at Providence.
In short, it hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing for the Golden Eagles in 2025, but with a chance to advance to the postseason on the line heading into the final game of the regular season, it was the work and belief that won out.
“As coaches, you’re always talking about process, process, process and the standard and being so committed to it,” Richard said. “You just hope the guys get a break to see the fruits of their labor, and you just pray that you get opportunities like this to point to and say, ‘This is what you guys earned and deserve.’
“For a long time here, we’ve had to find moral victories and to be able to point to this and celebrate is amazing.”
Marquette’s senior class has been one of the main driving forces of the turnaround this spring. But they all had an opportunity to leave last spring due to the coaching change, and none of them did.
“No one cares about Marquette lacrosse more than Jake Richard,” senior midfielder Will Foster said. “I can’t really put into words how much he means to all of us. Not only the belief he has in us, but the way he challenges us every day to better people on and off the field. Winning this one for him is pretty special.”
Marquette held a senior day celebration before the game, honoring 14 student-athletes and three team managers. MU’s seniors showed out on their night, with senior attacker Nolan Rappis scoring five times and assisting on another score. Senior attacker Bobby O’Grady also scored a goal and two assists, while Foster dished out two assists and scored a hat trick.
“Coach Richard really just preaches playing for each other,” Foster said. “There’s no better night to play for each other than senior night. I’m so proud of this team, our class, for sticking with it. This has been an amazing ride, we’re just playing for more time so there’s no better motivator than that.”
The Golden Eagles will get a chance to avenge themselves against the top-seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament on Thursday. The opening faceoff is set for 5 p.m. CST from Denver, Colorado.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at matthew.baltz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.