After a week with a sloppy non-conference victory and two Classic 8-Red losses, the Marquette boys lacrosse team could be hitting its stride at just the right time. A convincing win over a top-10 team in the state will do that for a program.
No. 4 Marquette held No. 7 Appleton United scoreless in the first half Saturday afternoon en route to an 8-3 victory at Mitchell Park in Milwaukee in the Amplify Lacrosse Boys Game of the Week.
“Our guys have dialed it in, and we have made some fundamental improvements,” Marquette coach Rich Pruszynski said. “We have focused on making sure the guys are doing the right things at the right times and being smart about the way we play.”
Marquette (8-6) put on a defensive show in the first half en route to taking a 5-0 lead. Sophomore goalie Nick Schmidt saved all four shots by Appleton United (10-3) behind a stout defense led by juniors Gavin Fields and Ryan Hensien. Senior Mitchell Gauthier took over between the pipes in the second half and stopped three of the six shots he faced.
“Nick in the first half did an amazing job did an amazing job just really seeing the ball well and with his outlet passing,” Pruszynski said. “Same things with Mitchell – he did a great job of coming out of the crease and double teamed shots that otherwise would have been goals.”
Senior Sean Duffey put the Hilltoppers on the board at 7 minutes, 20 seconds in the first quarter, and he scored with just 33.7 seconds left in the half for the second of his two goals in the game. He also assisted on freshman Michael Provenza’s goal at 5:32 in the first quarter.
Sophomore Joe Timmins extended Marquette’s lead to 3-0 with a goal early in the second quarter. Appleton United stopped the momentum for the next 10 minutes until Marquette junior Danny Read whipped a behind-the-back, no-look shot into the net with 1:17 left in the half. Duffey’s second goal of the game with 33.7 left gave Marquette a 5-0 lead at halftime.
Appleton United would climb within two goals in the third quarter as junior Andrew Shermerhorn, sophomore Owen Marshall and senior Nate Htwe each scored. But Marquette senior Calvin Schneider converted a goal on a two-man-up situation, and freshman Henry Lerner sealed the deal with two second half goals of his own.
“This was huge because of our last two losses,” Fields said. “We really needed to show the state that we’re a top-tier team and that we deserve to be up there.”
Marquette hosts University School of Milwaukee tonight before facing Sun Prairie at Mitchell Park on Saturday.
Appleton United visits Neenah on Tuesday in a battle of Bay Valley Conference undefeated teams. The squad then travels to Waukesha on Thursday before hosting Franklin Friday.
Each week, WisconsinLacrosse.com will highlight a select game from around Wisconsin. Made possible by a donation from Amplify Lacrosse.
