Eagles Hit the Road With #MACtion on Tap

Soccer at Ohio \| at Kent State
Date	Friday, Sept. 22 - 4 p.m. \| Sunday, Sept. 24 - 1 p.m.
Location	Chessa Field - Athens, Ohio \| Dix Stadium - Kent, Ohio
Game Notes	EMU Notes \| Ohio Notes \| KSU Notes
Live Stats	at O hio \| at Kent State
Live Stream	at Kent State
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - With the non-conference portion of the schedule in the books, the Eastern Michigan University soccer team heads into Mid-American Conference play on the road this weekend, Sept. 22-24. The Eagles (3-5-1, 0-0-0 MAC) begin league play against Ohio University, Sept. 22, at 4 p.m. in Athens, Ohio, before taking on defending MAC Tournament Champion, Kent State University, Sept. 24, at 1 p.m. in Kent, Ohio.
   Fans can follow the game via live stats through the links found on the soccer schedule page of EMUEagles.com. Additionally, the action on the pitch will be live tweeted from the team's account, @EMUSoccer.

READY, SET, #MACTION: Eastern Michigan enters its 20th season competing in the Mid-American Conference this weekend. The Eagles have compiled a 107-63-25 record in league play and are looking to claim their fourth MAC title, and first since 2013. Eastern was the 1999, 2003, and 2013 MAC Regular Season Champion, while EMU was the West Division Champion in 2013 and 2014.

THE ELDER STATESMAN: Entering his 19th season at the helm of the Eagles, Head Coach Scott Hall is the longest tenured women's soccer coach in the Mid-American Conference. Hall had been the second-longest tenured coach, but following Bobby Kramig's resignation after 34 years leading the Miami RedHawks, Aug. 4, Hall took over the top spot. Hall's three MAC Regular Season titles are tied atop the most in conference history.

OPENING ON THE ROAD: The Green and White are set to open Mid-American Conference play on the road for the fourth consecutive season when the Eagles travel into Athens, Ohio for a showdown with the Bobcats, Sept. 22.

ON HER WAY INTO THE 200-SAVE CLUB: Junior goalkeeper Kaylin Williams has become a mainstay in between the pipes for the Eagles since the start of the 2015 season. After amassing 64 saves as a true freshman due to Megan McCabe's nagging injuries, Williams bounced back with 81 saves in 2016 as EMU's starting keeper. So far this season, Williams' second as the Eagles' starter, she has racked up 38 stops, pushing her career total to 183. The Kansas City, Mo. native needs just 17 saves to become the program's seventh player to join the 200-save club.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: Overall, the Eagles returned a combined total of 15,232 career minutes, the fewest in the conference, spread amongst 13 veterans. Meanwhile, EMU added 10 freshmen to the mix, representing the fifth-largest freshman class in the nation.

EMU VERSUS THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENTS: Eastern Michigan boasts a 25-16-5 record against this weekend's competition, holding the lead in the all-time series against Ohio and Kent State.
   EMU is 13-7-4 against OU in 24 match ups and has won the last five meetings between the two squads, outscoring the Bobcats 12-3 over the stretch. Most recently, the Eagles blanked the Bobcats, 2-0, at Scicluna Field, Oct. 14, 2016. In that match, Kaylin Williams made three saves, while Rachel Washburn and Stef Barcelos provided first half goals.
   Eastern Michigan is 12-9-1 against Kent State since the series began in 1997. The Golden Flashes came out on top in the last meeting, knocking the Eagles out of the 2016 MAC Tournament, 2-nil. The Green and White is in search of its first win over KSU since the 2013 season, when EMU blanked Kent State, 2-0, behind a pair of second half strikes and a five-save performance by Megan McCabe.

EAGLES AGAINST THE EAST: Eastern begins Mid-American Conference play with five consecutive cross-divisional contests. The Eagles have squared off with members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference 132 total times and leads the all-time series against five of the six East members. Overall, the Green and White own a 71-46-15 mark against the East Division. Here is a look at records, as well as current streaks, against East Division teams...

Opponent	W	L	T	Streak
Akron	11	3	2	W-2
Bowling Green	14	9	1	W-1
Buffalo	10	6	6	T-1
Kent State	12	9	1	L-1
Miami	11	12	1	L-2
Ohio	13	7	4	W-5

WILLIAMS VS OHIO: Kaylin Williams is 2-0-0 in a pair of matches against Ohio since arriving in Ypsilanti in the fall of the 2015. In two starts against the Bobcats, Williams has racked up 10 total saves, while allowing just one goal on 27 shots faced. The Kansas City, Mo. native boasts a 0.50 goals against average versus the Bobcats.

ALL STREAKS MUST COME TO AN END: The Green and White had not yielded a goal in 279 minutes before Utah State's 65th-minute strike Friday, Sept. 15. The streak began in the 61st minute against Butler, Sept. 1, and stretched through two shutouts into the second half of Eastern's tilt with Utah State, Sept. 15.

A WIN WOULD...: With a win over Ohio, the Green and White would secure its sixth straight over the Bobcats, and its first MAC-opening win since the 2014 season. Meanwhile, if the Eagles were to beat both Ohio and Kent State, they would be 2-0 to start conference play for the first time since 2014 when it topped Miami (2-0) and Ball State (2-1, OT) to begin the league slate.

~~CUPID~~ STARTING LINEUP SHUFFLE: Head Coach Scott Hall has switched up the starting XI a fair amount in Eastern's first nine games, using five different lineups. Most recently however, Hall put the youth at the forefront, using a starting XI that featured four players making the first start of their careers. For the season, only five players have started every match; Kaylin Williams, Peyton Davis, Mikayla Cupp, Chanel Vani, and Madeline Olson.

DUNN DOES IT AGAIN: Sophomore Mabel Dunn garnered more minutes in between the posts, appearing in the second game of her career, Sept. 17, against Detroit Mercy. Dunn was solid in relief, making a career-high three saves. In roughly 45 minutes of action, the Oakville, Ontario native has not yielded a goal and has totaled four saves.

HAVE TO CASH IN: The Green and White rank second in the conference in shots, but have struggled to capitalize on opportunities. Eastern also ranks top in the conference in corners. Despite racking up more scoring chances than any team in the league, the Eagles are slotted ninth in goals per game.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles return to Scicluna Field for the second weekend of #MACtion, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, as the Green and White play host to a pair of MAC East Division opponents. EMU starts off the weekend against Buffalo, Sept. 29, at 4 p.m., before a Sunday afternoon tilt with the Zips of Akron, Oct. 1.

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Players Mentioned

Stef Barcelos

Mikayla Cupp

Peyton Davis

Mabel Dunn

Madeline Olson

Chanel Vani

Rachel Washburn

Kaylin Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics