Marquette men’s lacrosse has historically ended their regular seasons by playing Denver. This year, because everything is different and weird, they started their season against Denver, partially because the Big East has the team’s playing home and homes this season and partially because last week’s game against Cleveland State was cancelled.
There’s definitely reason to believe “first game of the year is against a ranked opponent” played a part in the result of Saturday’s 2021 season opener.
Denver ripped off six straight goals bridging the first quarter into the second, including a natural hat trick for Alex Simmons on the first three goals, to propel the Pioneers to a 6-1 lead and put Marquette on their heels.