Regular Season Finale, MAC Tourney Opener Await Eagles

Click here for Full Release (.pdf)

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan women's soccer team is primed for a Mid-American Conference Tournament run in 2009. They made it all the way to the MAC Championship game before suffering a late-goal defeat to Toledo last season and have improved on their finish in each of the previous two seasons. Prior to the start of tournament action, the Eagles will close out the regular season with a home match against the MAC leaders, Central Michigan.

The Chippewas and Eagles sit first and second, respectively, in the league standings and will be using Thursday's match-up to fine tune themselves for the conference tournament. Kickoff for EMU's home finale is slated for 3 p.m. at Scicluna Field.

--

ABOUT THE CHIPPEWAS: Central Michigan University has enjoyed quite an impressive streak of 13 consecutive shutouts spanning over 1,227:26 minutes. The Chippewas have not allowed a goal since Sept. 6 and have shutout each Mid-American Conference opponent they have faced. They are 14-3-1 overall, 9-0-1 in the MAC and are eighth in the Great Lakes regional rankings according to NSCAA. Laura Twidle is second in the league with seven goals and 16 points this year. Chelsi Abbott and Molly Gerst have scored five goals apiece. Goalkeeper Shay Mannino has started each game during CMU's shutout streak and leads the MAC in goals against average (0.47). Head Coach Tom Anagnost took over seven matches into the 2008 season and was named MAC Coach of the Year after leading the Chippewas to a 12-5-3 overall record and second place league finish.

POTENTIAL FIRST ROUND OPPONENTS: With a win Thursday, the Eagles would clinch the No. 2 seed in the 2009 MAC Tournament and would likely host Western Michigan or Kent State in first round action on Sunday. Ohio (20 points) and Akron (19) play each other in the regular season finale and both sit right behind the Eagles (21) in the standings. Should one of them win and the Eagles lose, they would jump ahead for the second seed and EMU would host either Toledo, Miami or Akron depending on how Thursday's games wind up.

LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles clinched their third straight MAC Tournament appearance with a win over MAC-rival Toledo Friday, Oct. 23. The Green and White battled back after 1-0 first half deficit and received goals from Julie Kaim and Maggie Christensen, their first scores of the season, to win 2-1 in very wet and sloppy field conditions. Sunday, EMU earned its ninth shutout of the season and moved into double-digits in the win column with a 2-0 victory over Bowling Green. Ashley Rodrigues scored her league-leading eighth goal of the season while Amanda Marsh chipped in her third score of the year.

AVENGING THE ROCKETS: The Eagles entered their game with Toledo Oct. 23 needing a win to overcome four straight losses and an all-time losing record to the Rockets, the only team in the MAC that holds that distinction against EMU. The Green and White evened the series at 9-9-0 all-time and made up in part for the losing skid which included a loss in the 2008 MAC Tournament Final last November. The Eagles can avenge both shortcomings with a win Friday.

MAC TOURNAMENT SET: The Mid-American Conference Tournament field is set despite one game remaining for each team on the regular season schedule. Central Michigan has clinched the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament with Eastern Michigan, Ohio and Akron still vying for the second seed. With four points thanks to a win and a draw, Western Michigan climbed into the top-8 and although they lost both games last weekend, Kent State solidfied a spot in the MAC Tourney. Buffalo, Ball State, Bowling Green and Northern Illinois will see will have to wait until next season for another opportunity.

ALL-TIME SAVES LEADER: With 10 saves against Bowling Green Sunday, Oct. 25, Monique Budani became the all-time saves leader at Eastern Michigan. The junior entered the season with 164 saves and has totaled 65 this season giving her 229 for her career. She passed Nikki Allen ('04) who made 223 stops from 2002-04. It's just one of several records that Budani holds the top spot in currently. She also leads in saves per game (6.36) and save percentage (.871).

SAVES APLENTY: Eastern Michigan has been solid in goal no matter who has stood in net. Maggie Manville and Budani have combined to record a save percentage of .902, saving 120 shots while allowing just 13 goals this season. They rank fourth in the nation among Division I teams. Samford, Pittsburgh and Dayton are the only schools that rank ahead of the Eagles.

RODRIGUES CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Ashley Rodrigues is making her mark in Eastern Michigan women's soccer history by climbing the charts in several categories. With eight goals this season, the senior has 19 for her career and is in sole possession of third place on the all-time list. Rodrigues is third place on the all-time points list as well, entering Thursday's game against CMU with 49 career points. She's fourth in shots attempted with 114, third in shots on goal with 64, and has gone from seventh to third in game-winning goals, scoring five this year to give her eight career game-winners.

SOME GOOD HOME COOKIN': The Eagles are 7-2-1 at home with their only losses coming to Miami, 1-0, and IUPUI, 2-1, in double overtime. The loss to IUPUI was especially hard as the Panthers scored with 24 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime, and then again with six seconds remaining in the second overtime to beat the Eagles. EMU has outscored its opponents 13-6 in eight home matches this season, recording four shutouts with a 1-1 draw to regionally-ranked Michigan State as well.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos