Soccer Set to Play Top-Two MAC Teams Thursday and Sunday

Soccer vs. Ohio \| Soccer vs. Kent State
Date	Thursday, Oct. 21 - 4 p.m. \| Sunday, Oct. 24 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Athens, Ohio - Chessa Field \| Ypsilanti, Mich. - Scicluna Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| EMU Program (Kent State)
Watch	YouTube (Ohio)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

ATHENS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University soccer team will begin its final week of Mid-American Conference play with a match at Ohio University Thursday, Oct. 21, and a home contest versus Kent State Sunday, Oct. 24.
   The match against the Bobcats is set to begin at 4 p.m. inside Chessa Field, while kickoff versus the Golden Flashes will begin at 1 p.m. at Scicluna Field. Fans can follow the match against Ohio via OhioBobcatTV (YouTube). Both matches can also be followed via live stats. Additionally, updates will be posted from the team's Twitter account, @EMUSoccer. Furthermore, the match against Kent State on Sunday will serve as Eastern's Senior Day, where Eastern Michigan Athletics will honor the team's seven seniors.

LEADING THE EAGLES: EMU redshirt junior Madeline Olson leads the Green and White's offense with two goals on the season. The four points put 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 nine different athletes have scored this season including Olson; seniors Haley Tausend and 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 21 shots while Shira holds the team lead in shots on goal (9).
   In net, senior Chelsea Abbotts leads the Eagles in saves (68) and owns both wins for Eastern in the 2021 campaign. Abbotts currently ranks first in the Mid-American Conference in saves per game (6.18) and third in total saves (68).

VIEWS FROM 2021: Eastern Michigan has a Mid-American Conference record of 1-5-2 entering the final week 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 a match and tied a match this past week, falling to Bowling Green, 3-0, and tying Toledo, 1-1.
   Last time out, EMU finished knotted at one after 110 minutes versus Toledo, 1-1, Oct. 17. Senior Haley Tausend scored the first goal of her senior campaign in the 89th minute off a free kick chance from freshman Vittoria Greco to tie the match at one goal apiece. Redshirt junior Madeline Olson and freshman Sophia D'Ambra led the attack for the Green and White with three total shots apiece, while five different Eagles tallied a shot on goal.
   Sophomore keeper Rebecca Przybylo finished with a career-high nine saves in the stalemate.

RETURN OF THE MAC: Since 2012, Eastern Michigan has an overall record of 50-48-7 in Mid-American Conference play, outscoring the opposition 149-145 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.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Senior Haley Tausend's 89th-minute goal versus Toledo, Oct. 17, was the latest score in regulation for the Eagles since they did so in the 90th minute in a 2-1 victory over Creighton, Aug. 31, 2018. The goal was also Tausend's third career score and first of the defender's senior campaign.

FIVE APPEARANCES, FIVE-PLUS SAVES: Sophomore Rebecca Przybylo made her fifth appearance in net for the Eagles versus Toledo, Oct. 17, tallying a career-best nine saves for the Green and White. Przybylo has now tallied five-or-more saves in all five of her appearances in net for the Eagles (four starts).
   The Canton, Mich. native has 32 saves this season and 37 career saves donning the Green and White.

A LOOK AT OHIO: The Eagles will be heading to Chessa Field to play an Ohio squad that currently sits atop the Mid-American Conference standings with a 6-0-2 record. The Bobcats have won six of its last eight and have not lost a match in MAC play this season. In that eight-game span, the Bobcats have outscored its opposition 12-2.
   Offensively, Ohio ranks second in the MAC with 216 shots (14.4 spg) and seventh in the conference with 20 goals. On defense, the Bobcats have allowed the fewest goals in the conference (10) and have allowed just two goals in eight MAC contests.

HISTORY VS. OHIO: This will be the 29th meeting between EMU and Ohio. The Eagles lead the all-time head-to-head series 14-10-4. The Bobcats have taken three of the last five from the Eagles, but Eastern won the last matchup between the two programs back in the 2019 Mid-American Conference Semifinals, defeating Ohio, 5-2, Nov. 8. In the win, former Eagle Kristin Hullibarger scored four times and then-freshman Amanda Cripps added a score to send EMU to the MAC Championship for the first time since 2008.

A LOOK AT KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes enter the week ranked second in the Mid-American Conference with a conference record of 6-1-1. Kent State has won five of its last six matches and is currently on a four-game winning streak.
   In their last match, the Golden Flashes defeated Ball State, 3-0, Oct. 17. Kent State currently leads the MAC in goals (34) and goals per game (6.40). KSU also ranks second in the conference in total shots on goal (103). On the back line, the Golden Flashes rank middle in the pack for goals against (21) and save percentage (.764).

HISTORY VS. KENT STATE: This will be the 26th meeting between EMU and KSU. The Green and White lead the all-time head-to-head series 14-10-1 over the Golden Flashes. In the last five meetings, both teams have secured two victories with one tie. In the last meeting, Eastern defeated Kent State, 3-2, in an overtime thriller. Former Eagle Sabrina McNeill scored two goals for the Green and White while then-sophomore Kylie Frantz added a goal for EMU.

LAST TIME IN YPSI: The last time the two programs met at Scicluna Field the Eagles shutout the Golden Flashes, 2-0, Sept. 21, 2018. In that match, former Eagle Kristin Hullibarger scored a pair of goals for EMU and then-sophomore Lindsey Shira added an assist.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles will complete their 2021 season with a home match versus Central Michigan Thursday, Oct. 28. Kickoff at Scicluna Field is set for 3 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Chelsea Abbotts

Sarah Ash

Chloe Chatzis

Amanda Cripps

Sophia D'Ambra

Kylie Frantz

Vittoria Greco

Tiffanie Hollingsworth

Jamie Lefebvre

Sabrina McNeill

Maddie O'Farrell

Madeline Olson

Rebecca Przybylo

Lindsey Shira

Haley Tausend

Eastern Michigan Athletics