Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Recapping the 2016 Soccer Season
12/15/2016 11:43:00 AM | Soccer
The Eagles finished the season with a 6-10-4 overall record
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University women's soccer team saw its season come to an end in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament after an improbable run late in league play catapulted the Eagles into the playoff picture. With the season in the rearview mirror, let's take a look back at the 2016 season.
After grinding out an impressive scoreless draw against Butler at Scicluna Field to open the season, Aug. 21, the Green and White's offense was stymied by a pair of Big Ten Conference opponents in Minneapolis, Minn., Aug. 26-28. The Eagles bounced back from losses to Iowa and Minnesota with a win over Green Bay, Sept. 2, thanks to a 51st minute strike by freshman defender Nicole Remedios (Ajax, Ontario-Archbishop Dennis O'Connor).
From there, Eastern returned to Ypsilanti for a season-long four-game homestand. Following a 1-1 draw with Loyola Chicago, the Eagles came-from-behind to stun Oregon State, 2-1. The Beavers jumped ahead in the fifth minute to take a 1-nil lead into halftime. EMU rattled off a pair of unanswered strikes in the second half, a 47th volley by redshirt senior Ellie Tillar (Cincinnati, Ohio-Turpin) and an 85th minute goal by senior Michelle Rollins (Hartland, Mich.-Hartland), ultimately coming away with a 2-1 victory.
A six-game losing skid in which the Eagles were outscored 15-5 had Eastern Michigan sitting at 2-8-2 on the season. Additionally, the six-game losing streak spanned the first two weekends of Mid-American Conference play, leaving the Eagles in search of their first conference win of the year with seven games left in the season. The last match of the skid was a true heartbreaker, as Miami knotted the game at two with less than 12 minutes remaining to force overtime before scoring the game-winner with 33 seconds left in the second overtime period to shock EMU.
A short week pitted Eastern Michigan against Bowling Green for a Thursday night showdown, Oct. 6. Senior Gabriella Mancini (Troy, Mich.-Troy) played a ball through to sophomore Peyton Davis (North Ridgeville, Ohio-Holy Name) to give the Green and White a 1-nil lead just eight minutes into the match. Eastern added an insurance goal in the 32nd minute, as freshman Sabrina McNeill (Whitby, Ontario-Henry Street) served up a ball for Tillar, who headed it home to double EMU's lead. BGSU pulled within one in the second half, but EMU held on for the 2-1 victory.
Following the win, the Eagles returned home for a trio of home games against Toledo, Ohio, and Kent State. Playing at Scicluna Field for the first time since the heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Miami, it appeared as though Eastern was going to stumble yet again. Toledo erased a 12th-minute goal by McNeill with a 75th minute strike of its own to force overtime. Two scoring chances for the Rockets were whistled dead on the count of offsides calls, keeping the match even at one roughly halfway through the extra time period at which point McNeill delivered a cross into the 18 on the Eagles' offensive end of the pitch. The cross from the far side soared in untouched and wrapped just inside the far post, giving EMU the 2-1 overtime win.
The Eagles pushed its win streak to three the following weekend, blanking Ohio, 2-nil, behind a three-save performance by sophomore goalkeeper Kaylin Williams (Kansas City, Mo.-Winnetonka). Williams' goal support came from a pair of unlikely heroes in senior center backs Rachel Washburn (Hartland, Mich.-Hartland) and Stef Barcelos (Mississauga, Ontario-St. Marcellinus). Stepping to the ball for a free kick just inside midfield, Washburn sent a delivery into the back of the net for the first goal of her career. The strike came 1:08 into the match, marking the second-fastest goal scored in program history. Barcelos' insurance tally came via penalty kick after Rollins was taken down in the box, making the final score, 2-0 in favor of the Green and White.
Eastern wrapped up the weekend against MAC East Division leader, Kent State, Oct. 16. Entering the match with an unbeaten record in league play and home to the most potent offense in the conference, KSU fired off 14 shots, but the Eagle defense stood strong. Williams made six saves en route to a scoreless draw, for her second shutout in as many games. With back-to-back shutouts for the first time in her career, Williams was honored by the conference as the MAC West Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first Eagle to earn the honor since Kristin Nason (Brooklin, Ontario-Donald A. Wilson) did so in 2015.
EMU hit the road for the final weekend of conference play, looking to secure a spot in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Eagles followed a 1-1 draw with Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 20, with a 1-nil victory over Akron, Oct. 23, to lock up a slot in the postseason.
Closing out the regular season at home against in-state rival Central Michigan, Oct. 27, Eastern put just two shots on frame, as the Chippewas used a 15-11 shot advantage to earn a 1-nil victory over the Eagles. The 1-0 setback marked the Green and White's first loss since Oct. 2 and snapped a six-game unbeaten streak.
Entering the postseason as the seventh seed, the Eagles made the trek to Kent, Ohio to take on second-seeded Kent State. A gloomy wet day at Dix Stadium controlled play early in the match as the teams remained locked at zero at halftime. In the second half, KSU netted the go-ahead goal in the 51st minute. From there, EMU was forced to press for a goal but came up empty, falling, 2-nil, to the eventual MAC Tournament Champions, to close the book on the 2016 season.
At the conclusion of the season, three Eagles garnered postseason accolades from the league as Tillar, Williams, and McNeill were named All-MAC. Tillar was named First Team All-MAC following the best season of her EMU career in which she set career-highs in goals, assists, points, minutes, shots, shots on goal, and game-winners. Williams picked up Second Team All-MAC honors, becoming the first EMU goalkeeper to be named All-MAC since 2010, while McNeill earned a spot on the MAC All-Freshmen Team, in addition to being named MAC Freshman of the Year.
A pair of Eagles also etched their names into the EMU record books. Tillar led the team with five goals and tied for the team-lead with three assists, totaling a team-best 13 points, pushing her career total to 24, the 22nd-most in Eastern Michigan history. Washburn also worked her way into the all-time list for assists, recording three helpers in her final season to move her career total to 12, tying for 12th-most by an Eagle all-time.
Not to be outdone by what they accomplished on the pitch, the Eagles landed 11 players on the Academic All-MAC team. Earning the honor for the Eagles were: Barcelos, redshirt senior Jennifer Bentley (London, Ontario-London), redshirt freshman Mia Colavito (Mississauga, Ontario-Loyola Catholic), Davis, senior Madison Hirsch (Troy, Mich.-Troy), Mancini, Rollins, Tillar, junior Chanel Vani (Brampton, Ontario-Cardinal Leger), junior Alex Wilbanks (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln), and Williams.
The 2016 season was the final go-around for Tillar, Rollins, Mancini, Hirsch, Barcelos, Washburn, and Bentley but with 13 players expected to return in 2017, the Eagles appear primed to build off of a strong finish to the 2016 campaign.
After grinding out an impressive scoreless draw against Butler at Scicluna Field to open the season, Aug. 21, the Green and White's offense was stymied by a pair of Big Ten Conference opponents in Minneapolis, Minn., Aug. 26-28. The Eagles bounced back from losses to Iowa and Minnesota with a win over Green Bay, Sept. 2, thanks to a 51st minute strike by freshman defender Nicole Remedios (Ajax, Ontario-Archbishop Dennis O'Connor).
From there, Eastern returned to Ypsilanti for a season-long four-game homestand. Following a 1-1 draw with Loyola Chicago, the Eagles came-from-behind to stun Oregon State, 2-1. The Beavers jumped ahead in the fifth minute to take a 1-nil lead into halftime. EMU rattled off a pair of unanswered strikes in the second half, a 47th volley by redshirt senior Ellie Tillar (Cincinnati, Ohio-Turpin) and an 85th minute goal by senior Michelle Rollins (Hartland, Mich.-Hartland), ultimately coming away with a 2-1 victory.
A six-game losing skid in which the Eagles were outscored 15-5 had Eastern Michigan sitting at 2-8-2 on the season. Additionally, the six-game losing streak spanned the first two weekends of Mid-American Conference play, leaving the Eagles in search of their first conference win of the year with seven games left in the season. The last match of the skid was a true heartbreaker, as Miami knotted the game at two with less than 12 minutes remaining to force overtime before scoring the game-winner with 33 seconds left in the second overtime period to shock EMU.
A short week pitted Eastern Michigan against Bowling Green for a Thursday night showdown, Oct. 6. Senior Gabriella Mancini (Troy, Mich.-Troy) played a ball through to sophomore Peyton Davis (North Ridgeville, Ohio-Holy Name) to give the Green and White a 1-nil lead just eight minutes into the match. Eastern added an insurance goal in the 32nd minute, as freshman Sabrina McNeill (Whitby, Ontario-Henry Street) served up a ball for Tillar, who headed it home to double EMU's lead. BGSU pulled within one in the second half, but EMU held on for the 2-1 victory.
Following the win, the Eagles returned home for a trio of home games against Toledo, Ohio, and Kent State. Playing at Scicluna Field for the first time since the heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Miami, it appeared as though Eastern was going to stumble yet again. Toledo erased a 12th-minute goal by McNeill with a 75th minute strike of its own to force overtime. Two scoring chances for the Rockets were whistled dead on the count of offsides calls, keeping the match even at one roughly halfway through the extra time period at which point McNeill delivered a cross into the 18 on the Eagles' offensive end of the pitch. The cross from the far side soared in untouched and wrapped just inside the far post, giving EMU the 2-1 overtime win.
The Eagles pushed its win streak to three the following weekend, blanking Ohio, 2-nil, behind a three-save performance by sophomore goalkeeper Kaylin Williams (Kansas City, Mo.-Winnetonka). Williams' goal support came from a pair of unlikely heroes in senior center backs Rachel Washburn (Hartland, Mich.-Hartland) and Stef Barcelos (Mississauga, Ontario-St. Marcellinus). Stepping to the ball for a free kick just inside midfield, Washburn sent a delivery into the back of the net for the first goal of her career. The strike came 1:08 into the match, marking the second-fastest goal scored in program history. Barcelos' insurance tally came via penalty kick after Rollins was taken down in the box, making the final score, 2-0 in favor of the Green and White.
Eastern wrapped up the weekend against MAC East Division leader, Kent State, Oct. 16. Entering the match with an unbeaten record in league play and home to the most potent offense in the conference, KSU fired off 14 shots, but the Eagle defense stood strong. Williams made six saves en route to a scoreless draw, for her second shutout in as many games. With back-to-back shutouts for the first time in her career, Williams was honored by the conference as the MAC West Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first Eagle to earn the honor since Kristin Nason (Brooklin, Ontario-Donald A. Wilson) did so in 2015.
EMU hit the road for the final weekend of conference play, looking to secure a spot in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Eagles followed a 1-1 draw with Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 20, with a 1-nil victory over Akron, Oct. 23, to lock up a slot in the postseason.
Closing out the regular season at home against in-state rival Central Michigan, Oct. 27, Eastern put just two shots on frame, as the Chippewas used a 15-11 shot advantage to earn a 1-nil victory over the Eagles. The 1-0 setback marked the Green and White's first loss since Oct. 2 and snapped a six-game unbeaten streak.
Entering the postseason as the seventh seed, the Eagles made the trek to Kent, Ohio to take on second-seeded Kent State. A gloomy wet day at Dix Stadium controlled play early in the match as the teams remained locked at zero at halftime. In the second half, KSU netted the go-ahead goal in the 51st minute. From there, EMU was forced to press for a goal but came up empty, falling, 2-nil, to the eventual MAC Tournament Champions, to close the book on the 2016 season.
At the conclusion of the season, three Eagles garnered postseason accolades from the league as Tillar, Williams, and McNeill were named All-MAC. Tillar was named First Team All-MAC following the best season of her EMU career in which she set career-highs in goals, assists, points, minutes, shots, shots on goal, and game-winners. Williams picked up Second Team All-MAC honors, becoming the first EMU goalkeeper to be named All-MAC since 2010, while McNeill earned a spot on the MAC All-Freshmen Team, in addition to being named MAC Freshman of the Year.
A pair of Eagles also etched their names into the EMU record books. Tillar led the team with five goals and tied for the team-lead with three assists, totaling a team-best 13 points, pushing her career total to 24, the 22nd-most in Eastern Michigan history. Washburn also worked her way into the all-time list for assists, recording three helpers in her final season to move her career total to 12, tying for 12th-most by an Eagle all-time.
Not to be outdone by what they accomplished on the pitch, the Eagles landed 11 players on the Academic All-MAC team. Earning the honor for the Eagles were: Barcelos, redshirt senior Jennifer Bentley (London, Ontario-London), redshirt freshman Mia Colavito (Mississauga, Ontario-Loyola Catholic), Davis, senior Madison Hirsch (Troy, Mich.-Troy), Mancini, Rollins, Tillar, junior Chanel Vani (Brampton, Ontario-Cardinal Leger), junior Alex Wilbanks (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln), and Williams.
The 2016 season was the final go-around for Tillar, Rollins, Mancini, Hirsch, Barcelos, Washburn, and Bentley but with 13 players expected to return in 2017, the Eagles appear primed to build off of a strong finish to the 2016 campaign.
Players Mentioned
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