EMU Soccer Set to Begin Defense of MAC Regular Season Title

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After finishing up the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 4-2 victory over the University of Illinois-Chicago, Sept. 21, the Eastern Michigan University soccer team begins its Mid-American Conference regular season title defense with a pair of games this weekend. The Green and White will kick off MAC play in unique fashion featuring one game on the road and another at home. The start of the conference slate won't be easy as Eastern faces two teams that made the MAC Tournament semifinals in 2013. First, the Eagles soar into Oxford, Ohio for a battle of the birds, facing the Miami University RedHawks on Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. Following the MAC opener, EMU returns home for the first time in 35 days, playing host to the Ball State University Cardinals at 1 p.m., Sept. 28.

EXTINGUISHING THE FLAMES: Two weeks away from action did not affect the EMU soccer team in a negative way as the Eagles wrapped up the non-conference season with a 4-2 victory over the University of Illinois-Chicago, Sept. 21, at Flames Field. Instead of coming out flat due to the extended break between contests, EMU (4-2-1) started out on fire by recording three goals over a five-minute span in the first half to build a three-score lead before finishing the game with a two-goal advantage over the Flames (1-8-0).
    Four different Eagles scored goals as Eastern doubled its highest mark of the season. Moreover, three Eagles tallied the first goals of their respective careers. Hallee Kansman, Molli Krick and Ellie Tillar all found the back of the net for the first time in a Green and White uniform, while senior Emily Dzik chalked up her second goal of the season. Krick provided the assist on Dzik's goal to cap off a career day for the EMU senior midfielder with three points. Madison Hirsch, Marisa Kozikowski and Bianca Rossi also added assists for Eastern Michigan. Playing in her home state for the first time in her collegiate career, goalkeeper Megan McCabe (4-1-1) made three saves throughout the 90 minutes of action.

TRIO OF FIRSTS: In the Eagles' 4-2 victory over Illinois-Chicago, Sept. 21, a trio of Eagles found the back of the net for the first time in their EMU careers: Molli Krick, Ellie Tillar and Hallee Kansman. Appearing in her 64th career game donning the Green and White, senior midfielder Krick scored her first goal in the 32nd minute. Known for initiating the EMU attack, the Novi, Mich. native finally had a chance to be on the end of a scoring opportunity. At the top of the box, the senior blasted an 18-yarder right by the outstretched UIC keeper to knot the contest at one goal apiece.
   Two minutes after Krick scored her first career goal, Tillar did the same to give the Eagles the lead over the Flames. The redshirt-sophomore took a pass from Marisa Kozikowski and saw the opening in the right side of the net for EMU's second goal of the game as well as first of her 17-game EMU career.
   With less than nine minutes remaining, Kansman provided the Eagles a little comfort with an insurance goal that was her first goal in 26 games as an Eagle. Madison Hirsch started the attack with a shot that missed high before the Eagles eventually earned a corner kick. As the sophomore took the corner, she found Kansman in the box. Coming in for the set piece, the defender used her head to score the first goal of her career and double EMU's lead as the clock continued to run down.

KRICK'S CAREER DAY: The EMU offense has flowed through Molli Krick in the midfield throughout her career. Being in the center of the action, the senior Eagle usually starts the attack and does not often get credit statistically. However, that all changed in Sunday's 4-2 win over Ilinois-Chicago, Sept. 21. Entering the contest with only four career points, Krick earned three in the road victory against the Flames. She started an EMU onslaught of three goals over a five-minute span with her first career goal at the 32nd minute of the first half. Less than five minutes later, Krick recorded an assist by sending a cross into Emily Dzik, who directed the ball into the net. The three-point day matched her amount in three previous seasons, while giving her a total of four thus far in the 2014 campaign.

DEFENDING THE CROWN: It was a memorable year for the Green and White in 2013 as the Eagles captured the program's first regular season title since 2003. EMU went 8-2-1 in conference action, clinching the championship with a 2-1 road victory over Western Michigan on the final day of the regular season, Oct. 31, 2013. As the defending title holder at the end of the regular season, the Eagles will certainly have a target on their backs as they try to become the fifth program in MAC history to win back-to-back conference crowns. Also, a title defense will give Eastern Michigan its fourth regular season title, more than any other MAC institution.
   Eastern will be looking for revenge of its own as conference play begins. The first two opponents on EMU's MAC schedule, Miami and Ball State, were the only blemishes for the Eagles during the 2013 conference slate. Also, the Green and White will look to avenge last season's MAC Tournament semifinal loss to Western Michigan when the Broncos host the Eagles, Oct. 26.

REPORT ON THE REDHAWKS: Miami enters Friday's matchup with the best non-conference record among all MAC schools at 6-1-0. The RedHawks are currently on a four-game winning streak behind reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Week Kelsey Dinges, who scored three goals over the weekend to increase her season total to five. Sophomore Rachel Marble complements Dinges in the midfield, boasting a team-best three assists. In goal, senior Danielle Wiseman is the primary keeper for MU, posting a 5-1-0 record with a .714 save percentage. In the preseason coaches poll, Miami was picked to finish second in the MAC East behind Kent State; however, the RedHawks had seven first-place votes compared to just five for the Golden Flashes.
   The Eagles and RedHawks have had an even series throughout history at 10-10-1. Friday's contest will also be a battle between the MAC's two winningest coaches of all-time in Miami Head Coach Bobby Kramig and EMU Head Coach Scott Hall. Kramig has compiled 185 wins over 17-plus seasons at the helm of the RedHawks, while Hall has guided the Eagles to 155 victories in just over 15 seasons. In terms of regular season titles, Hall holds a 3-2 advantage over the MU veteran manager.
   Last year, EMU lost a hard-fought, heartbreaking contest, 1-0, in double overtime. After a scoreless first 108 minutes of play at Scicluna Field, Oct. 13, 2013, the game ended in bizarre fashion as the ball appeared to be heading out-of-bounds and would have given a goal kick to EMU. However, Dinges got to the ball and sent a cross into the box where Kayla Zakrzewski scored past Megan McCabe. Players from both teams stood motionless on the field, wondering what exactly happened and thinking the ball was out of play. The head referee consulted with the assistant referee who motioned that the ball never went out-of-bounds, making the goal count and giving Miami the 1-0 victory with just 1:18 to play in the contest.

SCOUTING BALL STATE: After advancing to the MAC Tournament championship game a season ago as the No. 6 seed, expectations have increased for Ball State. The Cardinals were picked to finish third in the MAC West behind Western Michigan and Eastern, but received two first-place votes in the coaches poll. Through non-conference play, it looks as if BSU has lived up to the hype with a 4-1-2 record. Ball State is led by a pair of sophomores on both sides of the pitch as Gabby Veldman paces the team with three goals, and Brooke Dennis guards the goal. Dennis has started every game for the Cardinals, compiling an .846 save percentage along with an 0.89 goals against average, including three shutouts.
   EMU leads the all-time series with Ball State, 8-5-2. In the previous meeting between the two programs, Ball State topped EMU, 1-0, giving the Eagles their first loss in MAC play, Oct. 11, 2013. It was in the 28th minute that the BSU posted what happened to be the difference maker in the match. Ball State's Leah Mattingly set up a free kick outside of the left half of the box, which she sent the flying into the box. Victoria Jacobs connected her head with the ball, sending it out of reach of Megan McCabe and into the back of the net, giving the Cardinals a one-goal advantage.

STATISTICAL LEADERS: Through the non-conference portion of the 2014 campaign, three Eagles find themselves near the top in conference and national rankings. Angela Vultaggio, the 2013 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, has started her senior season off strong to make a case to repeat as the award winner. The Chesterfield, Mich. native is second in the conference in goals (4) and third in points (8). With three assists in 2014, sophomore forward Madison Hirsch sits in a tie for second in the conference's category. In goal, Megan McCabe's three shutouts are just one behind the conference leaders. To go along with her shutouts, the Arlington Heights, Ill. native boasts a save percentage of .833 for the 56th-best mark in the nation. Allowing an average of just .800 goals per game, McCabe ranks third in the MAC as well as 70th nationally.

PROTECTING SCICLUNA: Throughout the 20-year program history, the EMU soccer team has done a fantastic job of protecting Scicluna Field. Since the inaugural season in 1995, the Eagles have compiled a record of 99-44-24 on their home pitch. This season, Eastern is 2-0-0 at home with wins over Fordham, Aug. 22, and Indiana, Aug. 24. With a pair of victories to start the season, the historical 100th victory is in reach when Ball State comes to town, Sept. 28, in the Eagles' first home conference game of the season.

MILES UPON MILES: After two home exhibition matches as well as two games at Scicluna Field to begin the regular season, EMU is currently in the midst of spending 35 days away from Ypsilanti for six road contests. Before the Eagles return home, Sept. 28, they will have traveled a total of 3,171 miles during the six-game road trip. The longest venture was out to the West Coast to face Oregon and Oregon State; the distance from Ypsilanti to Eugene, Ore. is 2,373 miles. Life on the rigorous road ends Sept. 26 in Oxford, Ohio as Eastern battles Miami University to kick off MAC play. Two days later, the team returns home to host Ball State in a Sunday afternoon affair, Sept. 28.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After opening MAC play this weekend in which the Eagles will have returned home for the first time in six matches, they will hit the road once again for another pair of conference games. First, EMU heads to the University of Akron to face the Zips, Oct. 3, in a Friday night matchup. The contest is set to begin at 7 p.m. under the lights of Cub Cadet Field. Ending the weekend, Eastern will square off against the Bulls of the University at Buffalo, Oct. 5, at noon.

PRESEASON POLL PREDICTS EMU TO FINISH SECOND IN MAC WEST: The 2014 EMU women's soccer team has been picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference West Division as the conference released its preseason coaches' poll, Monday, Aug. 18. In addition to the runner-up prediction, the Eagles also received two votes to win the West.
   Western Michigan University topped the standings as the favorite to win the West with seven first-place votes, while EMU and Ball State each received a pair of first-place votes to follow the Broncos in second and third, respectively. The majority of coaches also felt that WMU would repeat as MAC Tournament champion. Rounding out the West in order of the final three spots are Central Michigan University, the University of Toledo and Northern Illinois University.
   In the East, the coaches overall felt that Kent State University would claim the top spot in the division; however, Miami University, predicted to end up behind the Golden Flashes, held seven first-place votes compared to just five for KSU. With those two teams taking all of the votes to finish at the top, Ohio University followed in third and the University at Buffalo was tabbed to finish fourth. The University of Akron and Bowling Green State University completed the standings in the East division.
   Last year, the preseason poll predicted the Green and White to finish second in the West, but the Eagles exceeded those expectations by standing alone atop the Mid-American Conference at the conclusion of the regular season with an 8-2-1 record in MAC play and a 12-7-2 overall record. The conference championship was the program's third overall and first since the 2003 season. Despite losing five seniors to graduation, Coach Scott Hall returns a veteran cast that includes 2013 MAC Offensive Player of the Year Angela Vultaggio and MAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year Emily Dzik.

2014 MAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll (First-Place votes in parentheses)
East Division
1. Kent State (5)
2. Miami (7)
3. Ohio
4. Buffalo
5. Akron
6. Bowling Green

West Division
1. Western Michigan (7)
2. Eastern Michigan (2)
3. Ball State (2)
4. Central Michigan (1)
5. Toledo
6. Northern Illinois

MAC Tournament Predicted Champion: Western Michigan

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Players Mentioned

Emily Dzik

Madison Hirsch

Hallee Kansman

Marisa Kozikowski

Molli Krick

Megan McCabe

Bianca Rossi

Ellie Tillar

Angela Vultaggio

Eastern Michigan Athletics