Xavier Lacrosse 2023 Season Preview

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's lacrosse enters the 2023 season with five home and nine road games slated with opponents from seven conferences. The inaugural season begins on February 11 with PAC-12 opponent Oregon and closes on April 29th with BIG EAST opponent Connecticut.

SEASON BREAKDOWN

Oregon
Feb. 11 | 4 p.m. ET
Eugene, Ore.

Oregon went 4-14 overall last season with a 1-9 record in the Pac-12.
The first season for the Ducks was in 2005.

Detroit Mercy
Feb. 19 | 2 p.m. ET
Cincinnati, Ohio

Detroit Mercy went 2-13 overall last season with a 2-8 record in the MAC.
The first season for the Titans was in 2009.

Radford
Feb. 24 | 2 p.m. ET
Radford, Va.

Radford went 2-14 overall last season with a 1-8 record in the Big South.
The first season for the Highlanders was in 2016.

Longwood
Feb. 26 | 12 p.m. ET
Farmville, Va.

Longwood went 6-11 overall last season with a 3-6 record in the Big South.
The first season for the Lancers was in 2004.

Presbyterian
Mar. 4 | 12 p.m. ET
Clinton, SC

Presbyterian went 2-15 overall last season with a 0-9 record in the Big South.
The first season for the Blue Hose was in 2008.

Wofford
Mar. 7 | 12 p.m. ET
Spartanburg, SC

Wofford went 5-11 overall last season with a 3-6 record in the Big South.
The first season for the Terriers was in 2018.

Eastern Michigan
Mar. 12 | 2 p.m. ET
Cincinnati, Ohio

Both Xavier and Eastern Michigan will play their first seasons in 2023.

Michigan
Mar. 26 | 1 p.m. ET
Ann Arbor, Mich.

Michigan went 11-7 overall last season with a 2-4 record in the Big Ten.
The first season for the Wolverines was in 2014.
Michigan advanced to the 2022 NCAA Tournament where they fell to Northwestern 15-12 in the second round.

Butler*
Apr. 1 | 1 p.m. ET
Indianapolis, Ind.

Butler went 6-9 overall last season with a 0-5 record in the BIG EAST.
The first season for the Bulldogs was in 2017.

Georgetown*
Apr. 5 | 12 p.m. ET
Cincinnati, Ohio

Georgetown went 9-9 overall last season with a 3-2 record in the BIG EAST.
The first season for the Hoyas was in 2005.

Marquette*
Apr. 8 | 3:30 p.m. ET
Milwaukee, Wisc.

Marquette went 8-10 overall last season with a 3-2 record in the BIG EAST.
The first season for the Golden Eagles was in 2013.

Denver*
Apr. 16 | 1 p.m. ET
Cincinnati, Ohio

Denver went 18-3 overall last season with a 5-0 record in the BIG EAST.
The first season for the Pioneers was in 1999.
Denver advanced to the 2022 NCAA Tournament where they fell to Boston College 13-8 in the second round.

Villanova*
Apr. 19 | 1 p.m. ET
Cincinnati, Ohio

Villanova went 5-11 overall last season with a 1-4 record in the BIG EAST.
The first season for the Wildcats was in 1999.

Connecticut*
Apr. 29 | 12 p.m. ET
Storrs, Conn.

UConn went 13-5 overall last season with a 3-2 record in the BIG EAST.
The first season for the Huskies was in 2007.
UConn advanced to the 2022 NCAA Tournament where they fell to James Madison 14-7 in the first round.

*denotes BIG EAST game

BIG EAST PRESEASON AWARDS

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
First Place Votes in ()
Denver (6)          36 pts
Georgetown (1) 29
Connecticut 26
Marquette 21
Villanova 18
Butler 11
Xavier    6

BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Lauren Black, Denver, So., A

BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Sam Thacker, Denver, Sr., D

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Grace Coon, Connecticut, Gr., A
Ariana Kline, Connecticut, Sr., D
Lia LaPrise, Connecticut, Gr., A
Landyn White, Connecticut, Gr., GK
Lauren Black, Denver, So., A
Ellie Curry, Denver, Sr., M
Julia Gilbert, Denver, Sr., A
Sam Thacker, Denver, Sr., D*
Erin Bakes, Georgetown, Gr., M
Tatum Geist, Georgetown, Jr., M
Nicole Massimino, Georgetown, Gr., D
Lydia Foust, Marquette, Sr., M
Mary Schumar, Marquette, Sr., A
Caroline Curnal, Villanova, Gr., M
Addie Fischer, Villanova, Sr., M*

*denotes unanimous selection

SCHEDULE NOTES

• The 2023 women's lacrosse inaugural spring schedule will consist of five home matches and nine road games with a full BIG EAST schedule.

• Xavier women's lacrosse will play teams from seven different conferences in the inaugural season (BIG EAST, Big Ten, PAC-12, Horizon League, Big South, Southern, and Mid-American)

• The Musketeers will also compete against another first year program - the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Both Xavier and Eastern Michigan have spent the last year building programs from the ground up.

• Xavier will participate in BIG EAST play but are ineligible for the conference tournament in the first year of the program. They will be eligible for the tournament in the 2024 spring season.

PROGRAM NOTES

• Head Coach Meg Decker came to Xavier from Hartford where she built the program from the ground up. Prior to Hartford, Decker helped build Virginia Commonwealth University's women's lacrosse program from scratch as an assistant coach and was a student-athlete on the inaugural women's lacrosse team at the United States Naval Academy.

• Assistant Coach Grace Beshlian comes to Xavier from William and Mary where she spent the 2021-22 year as an assistant coach. Prior to William and Mary, Beshlian served as a student assistant coach at UConn in 2021 following her standout playing career for the Huskies from 2016-20.

• Director of Operations Erin Rubright arrived at Xavier following a one year stint as the Temple Football Graduate Assistant for Player Development and Recruiting. Prior to Temple, Rubright worked in the Liberty University Football program as a student worker in recruiting.

• Xavier Lacrosse's inaugural squad consists of three graduate students, four juniors, two sophomores, and 20 freshmen. With transfers from Vermont, Hartford, Walsh, Duquesne, and Winthrop, the coaching staff at Xavier has established a strong foundation to support the large number of freshman.

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