EMU Travels to Bowling Green, Host Toledo

Soccer vs. Bowling Green \| Soccer vs. Toledo
Date	Thursday, Oct. 14 - 7 p.m. \| Sunday, Oct. 17 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Bowling Green, Ohio - Cochrane Stadium \| Ypsilanti, Mich. - Scicluna Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| EMU Program (Toledo)
Watch	YouTube (Bowling Green)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer team will begin its final two weeks of Mid-American Conference play with a match at Bowling Green State University Thursday, Oct. 14, and a home contest versus the University of Toledo Sunday, Oct. 17.
   The nightcap against the Falcons is set to begin at 7 p.m. inside Cochrane Stadium, while kickoff versus the Rockets will begin at 1 p.m. at Scicluna Field. Fans can follow the match against Bowling Green via WBGU-TV (YouTube). Both matches can also be followed via live stats. Additionally, updates will be posted from the team's Twitter account, @EMUSoccer.

LEADING THE EAGLES: EMU redshirt junior Madeline Olson leads the Green and White's offense with two goals on the season. The four points puts Olson over the 20-point mark for her career (21) as she is now nine points away from the 30 mark.
   The Eagles' attack has been diverse as eight different athletes have scored this season including Olson; senior Lindsey Shira, redshirt junior Chloe Chatzis, junior Sarah Ash, sophomores Amanda Cripps and Tiffanie Hollingsworth, and freshmen Jamie Lefebvre and Maddie O'Farrell. Shira leads the Eagles with two assists on the season and four points on the year (one goal and two assists). Cripps paces EMU with 20 shots. Cripps and Shira both hold the team lead in shots on goal (8).
   In net, senior Chelsea Abbotts leads the Eagles in saves (56) and owns both wins for Eastern in the 2021 campaign. Abbotts currently ranks second in the Mid-American Conference in saves per game (5.60) and fourth in save percentage (.767).

VIEWS FROM 2021: Eastern Michigan has a Mid-American Conference record of 1-4-1 entering the final two weeks of the 2021 regular season. The Eagles finished non-conference play with an overall record of 1-5-1.
   Eastern will look to finish MAC play strong after the team dropped two conference matches this past week, falling to the University at Buffalo, 2-1, and the University of Akron, 2-0.
   Last time out, EMU dropped its contest to the Zips, 2-0, Oct. 10. Sophomore Amanda Cripps earned multiple scoring opportunities, notching two shots on goal. Freshman Ashley Schneider led the Eagles with three total shots and 67 minutes off the bench.
   Senior Chelsea Abbotts and sophomore Rebecca Przybylo split time in net for the Eagels. Abbotts played the first half while Przybylo came in and finished the second. The two keepers combined for seven saves against the Akron attack on Sunday afternoon.

RETURN OF THE MAC: Since 2012, Eastern Michigan has an overall record of 50-47-6 in Mid-American Conference play, outscoring the opposition 148-141 in that span.
   Head coach Scott Hall enters the 2021 campaign with a 131-92-26 career conference record. Hall's teams have qualified for the MAC Tournament 15 times and captured one tournament title, three regular season titles, three appearances in the MAC title game, and nine top-five regular season finishes.

MANNING THE DEFENSE: EMU's defense is led by upperclassmen Sarah Ash, Lindsey Shira, and Haley Tausend. The trio lead the Green and White in minutes played, amassing 3,497 combined minutes (89.7 mpg) in 13 games this season.
   Tausend has been a force on the Eagles' back line. The senior leads the team in minutes played, 1,205, has totaled six shots, and was a big factor in EMU's clean sheet at Ball State, Sept. 23.
   Fellow defensman Shira is getting it done on both sides of the ball, helping the Eagles' defense earn a clean sheet and holding the team lead in shots on goal (8).
   Prior to the match at Akron, Ash did not come off the field, playing in every minute, totaling 1,120 minutes in 12 consecutive starts. Ash also recorded the game-winning score against Northern Illinois, Oct. 3, to give Eastern its first Mid-American Conference victory of the season.

FOUR APPEARANCES, FIVE-PLUS SAVES: Sophomore Rebecca Przybylo made her fourth appearance in net for the Eagles at Akron, Oct. 10, tallying five saves for the Green and White. In each of her four appearances (three starts), Przybylo has notched five or more saves, with her season high (7) coming against Western Illinois, Sept. 17.
   The Canton, Mich. native has 23 saves this season and 28 career saves donning the Green and White.

A LOOK AT BOWLING GREEN: BGSU is the reigning back-to-back-to-back Mid-American Conference Champions, winning the conference's tournament in 2018, 2019, and the 2020-21 seasons.
   The Eagles will be heading to Cochrane Stadium to play a Bowling Green squad that has won four of its last six. The Falcons will also be putting a three-game winning streak on the line when they host EMU. In that three-game span, BGSU has defeated Miami, 3-1, Ball State, 2-0, and Kent State, 3-2, outscoring the opposition 8-3.
   Offensively, the Falcons rank third in the MAC with 23 goals (1.77 gpg) and fourth in the conference with 170 total shots. On defense, BGSU has allowed 20 goals in 13 matches (1.54 gapg) and ranks sixth in save percentage (.747).

HISTORY VS. BOWLING GREEN: This will be the 30th meeting between EMU and BGSU. The Eagles lead the all-time head-to-head series 15-12-2. The Falcons have taken four of the last five from the Eagles and has outscored EMU 6-4 in the last five meetings.

A 2019 MAC CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH: The Green and White will be looking for some revenge against BGSU as the most recent meeting between Eastern and Bowling Green came in the 2019 Mid-American Conference Championship, Nov. 11, inside Cochrane Stadium. In the champinoship match, both teams could not find the back of the net and the game went to penalties. In the shootout, the Falcons prevailed and captured their then-second consecutive MAC title.

A LOOK AT TOLEDO: Toledo has been streaky in Mid-American Conference play, opening conference play with a pair of victories, then losing its last three. The Rockets come into the weekend snapping a three-game losing skid with a home victory over Ball State, 2-1, Oct. 10.
   Toledo currently ranks middle of the pack in the Mid-American Conference with a conference record of 3-3-0 and an overall record of 8-4-2. The Rockets rank fifth in the MAC in goals (20), total shots (155), and shots on goal (84). On the back line, Toledo has allowed the fewest amount of goals in the conference (10) and is second in the MAC in save percentage (.836).

HISTORY VS. TOLEDO: This will be the 29th meeting between EMU and Toledo. The all-time head-to-head series between the two Mid-American Conference squads is knotted at 14-14-1 with the Rockets winning three of the last five meetings.

LAST TIME IN YPSI: The last time the two programs met came inside the St. Joe's Sports Dome in Ypsilanti where Eastern defeated Toledo, 3-2, March 18, 2021. In that match, former Eagle Sabrina McNeill scored two goals for the Green and White while then-sophomore Amanda Cripps added the game-winning goal in the 58th minute.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles will continue their Mid-American Conference slate with a road match at Ohio, Oct. 21, and a home match versus Kent State, Oct. 24. EMU's match against Kent State will be Senior Day where Eastern Athletics will recognize the seven seniors on this year's team.

For updates on all things Eastern Michigan soccer, continue to check EMUEagles.com and be sure to follow the team on Instagram and Twitter, @EMUSoccer.

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Players Mentioned

Chelsea Abbotts

Sarah Ash

Chloe Chatzis

Amanda Cripps

Tiffanie Hollingsworth

Jamie Lefebvre

Sabrina McNeill

Maddie O'Farrell

Madeline Olson

Rebecca Przybylo

Ashley Schneider

Lindsey Shira

Haley Tausend

Eastern Michigan Athletics