It was a battle of eagles in Milwaukee under the dome of Valley Fields.
But in the end, it was the Golden Eagles (4-1) that prevailed, defeating the Niagara Purple Eagles (1-4) 16-11 Friday night at Valley Fields to avenge their loss against them a year ago.
Marquette’s stars showed up
Preseason Big East Offensive Player of the Year Meg Bireley had a career-high nine points in the contest. With those nine points, The senior attacker scored six goals on 12 shot attempts and dished out a career-high three assists. She has had an impressive career against the Purple Eagles, scoring 14 goals in two games against them.
With those nine points, Bireley became the third player in program history to hit 200 career points.
𝟐𝟎𝟎
Meg became the third player in program history to hit 200 career points tonight!
#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/sKTDl8Q6o6
— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) March 1, 2025
Junior attacker Tess Osburn, who earned Preseason All-Big East honors, ran the show on offense for Marquette. She found the back of the net four times on eight shots and contributed two assists, earning a career-high six points.
Sophomore midfielder Lauren Grady had a breakout game. In the win, she earned her first career hat trick, posting a career-high five points and a career-high tying two assists.
Momentum shift carries MU to the finish line
The Golden Eagles scored four goals in every period. In the first period, Niagara and Marquette traded blows. Niagara led 1-0 and 3-2, but the Golden Eagles responded both times to end the quarter with a 4-3 advantage.
The second period was more of the same. The Purple Eagles came out swinging to take a 5-4 lead with 8:09 left in the half. Once again, Marquette responded by going on a 4-0 run to take an 8-5 lead into the half.
The third quarter looked to be heading in the same direction. Niagara cut the lead to 9-8 with 7:30 left in the period and had all the momentum until junior attacker Adrianna Commodari scored a no-look behind the back goal that ignited the crowd and shifted momentum to the Golden Eagles for good.
Behind the back
pic.twitter.com/4wt3HLv97t
— Marquette Women’s Lacrosse (@MarquetteWLax) March 1, 2025
Marquette built on Commodari’s goal by scoring three more in a row to stretch the lead to 13-8 with 13:57 remaining, cruising the rest of the way to its fourth win of the season.
Statistical output
Marquette bested Niagara in almost every statistical category.
The Golden Eagles outshot Niagara 38-26 26 in shots and put 31 shots on goal to the Purple Eagles’ 21. Marquette was all over the place, grabbing 24 ground balls and winning 19 draw controls, compared to Niagara’s 14 ground balls and 11 draw controls. The Golden Eagles won the turnover battle by forcing 20 turnovers and coughing the ball up only 15 times.
Senior goalie Brynna Nixon was in the cage for Marquette today and saved 10 shots, good for a 47.6 save percentage. She notched her 24th win of her career Friday. On the other side, first-year goalie Haley Terry was a bright spot for the Purple Eagles, saving 15 out of 31 shots.
Up next
Marquette welcomes the reigning national runner-up the Northwestern Wildcats (5-1) to Valley Fields March 7 at 5 p.m. CST.
This article was written by Max Mullin. He can be reached at maxwell.mullin@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MullinMax.