Soccer Hosts Toledo, Ventures to Western

Match #13 - TOLEDO
Date	Thursday, Oct. 13 - 4 p.m.
Venue	Scicluna Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

Match #14 - WESTERN MICHIGAN
Date	Sunday, Oct. 16 - 1 p.m.
Venue	WMU Soccer Complex - Kalamazoo, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer team is set for two more Mid-American Conference matches this week as the Eagles will play host to the University of Toledo before traveling to face rival Western Michigan University. The week opens Thursday, Oct. 13, when the Eagles (2-8-3, 1-4-1 MAC) welcome the Rockets (1-7-5, 0-3-3 MAC) to Scicluna Field for a 4 p.m. kick. Eastern closes this week's slate Sunday, Oct. 16, when it heads to the WMU Soccer Complex in Kalamazoo, Mich., for a 1 p.m. kick with the Broncos (3-5-5, 3-1-2 MAC).

QUICK KICKS:
» Eastern Michigan is playing its 28th varsity season and sports a 247-231-63 overall record and stands 141-106-31 in Mid-American Conference play.
» Head Coach Scott Hall is currently in his 24th season at the helm of the program and holds an all-time record of 208-200-60 (130-102-29 MAC) during his time in Ypsilanti.
» Eastern is now 141-106-31 all-time in the Mid-American Conference.
» Hannah Thompson added her name to the multi-goal lists with two goals against Kent State, Oct. 6, marking the 53rd time the feat has been accomplished by an Eagle.
» With her brace, Thompson is the third Eastern player to record two goals in a match this season, joining Meagan Lukowski, Aug. 21, and Maddie O'Farrell, Sept. 29.
» The last time the Eagles had three or more players record multiple-goal matches in the same season was 2019 when Kristin Hullibarger Nason, Lindsey Shira, and Sabrina McNeill accomplished the feat.
» Thompson's second goal came from the penalty spot, making her the 20th different Eastern player to convert a spot kick and record the 32nd goal in 45 tries in program history.

CHASING THE LINE: At the conclusion of matches played Oct. 27, the top six teams in the MAC standings will earn berths into the MAC Tournament that will see the third and fourth-seeded teams play host to quarterfinals matches against the sixth and fifth-seeds, respectively, while the top seed will play host to the semifinal and championship final. At the halfway point in league play (6-of-11 matches), the Eagles currently sit 10th on the table with four points with the University at Buffalo (14 points) and Ball State University (13) leading the way while Bowling Green State University, Western Michigan, and Kent State University are in a three-way tie for third with 11 points. Toledo, Eastern's first foe this week, is tied for 11th in the standings with the University of Akron as both have three points.

SCOUTING TOLEDO: The Rockets enter the week with a 1-7-5 overall record and are tied for 11th in the MAC standings with three points from a 0-3-3 league record. Winless in their last nine (0-6-3), the Rockets are coming off a weekend in which they lost a 6-2 home decision to Ball State before battling to a 1-1 draw at Central Michigan. Offensively, Morgan Otteson leads the way with team-bests in points (19) and goals (9) while chipping in one assist with five other players combining for the remaining eight goals. Defensively, Karson Hill has seen the majority of play in goal and has stopped 65 shots while allowing 33 goals for a 3.11 goals-against average.

IN THE SERIES - EMU vs UT: Eastern leads the all-time series by one match, 15-14-2, and is 12-3-2 when the two sides meet in Ypsilanti. In fact, Thursday's match will mark the third contest in a row the Eagles and Rockets have played in Ypsilanti. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw last year, Oct. 17, 2021, at Scicluna Field after Eastern took a 3-2 decision March 18, 2021, inside the St. Joe's Sports Dome during the 2020 COVID season. The 31 matches have seen plenty of scoring with UT holding a slim 51-50 edge overall while Eastern leads, 36-23, in scoring in home matches. Overall, only 10 matches have seen shutouts posted by either side and none since Oct. 11, 2015, a 1-0 Rockets win in Toledo.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Broncos enter the week with a 3-5-5 overall record and stand tied for third in the MAC with 11 points from their 3-1-2 league record. Last week, Western dropped a 1-0 decision at home to Central Michigan before rebounding to win, 2-0, at Ball State who sits second in the MAC standings. Six players have scored goals with Reagan Wisser leading the way with team highs in goals (5) and points (11) while adding one assist. Defensively, Hannah Sargent has seen action in all but one match in 2022 and has recorded 49 saves and allowed 16 goals for a 1.36 goals-against average.

IN THE SERIES - EMU vs WMU: The Broncos' 1-0 win in Ypsilanti last year, Sept. 30, 2021, gave Western Michigan the lead in the all-time series at 15-14-4 and continued a trend of the Eagles and Broncos trading victories in seven consecutive matches. Western holds an 8-5-2 lead when the two sides meet in Kalamazoo after winning the last meeting, 4-0, March 7, 2021, the Broncos' third in a row as the hosts. Overall, 11 of the 33 matches played have gone to overtime with the Eagles holding a 4-3-4 record in those contests.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Eastern dropped both of its MAC contests last week, falling to visiting Kent State University, 4-2, Thursday at home before suffering a 3-0 defeat at the University at Buffalo Sunday.

POST-MATCH NOTES - KENT STATE:
» Eastern slipped to 2-7-3 (1-3-1 MAC) on the year while Kent State improved to 3-6-3 (3-1-1 MAC).
» Hannah Thompson finished with two goals to tie for the eighth-most goals in a single match in program history while recording the 53rd two-goal match for the Eagles.
» Thompson's two goals marked the second match in a row and third time this season an Eastern player has tallied multiple goals in a single match with Maddie Farrell scoring twice against Ohio University last time out (Oct. 2) and Meagan Lukowski notching her brace at Illinois State University, Aug. 21.
» Multiple players with multiple-goal matches don't happen too often with the last instance of three Eastern players accomplishing the feat coming in 2019 with Kristin Hullibarger Nason (4 vs. Ohio, Nov. 8), Lindsey Shira (2 vs. Western Michigan University, Oct. 28) and Sabrina McNeill (2 vs. Kent State, Oct. 18) combining for the accomplishment.
» The second goal for Thompson came from the penalty spot after Lukowski was pulled down in the box. Prior to her conversion of the spot kick, Madeline Olson scored the most recent penalty kick for Eastern when she bagged a 1-0 lead in the 16' at home against Morehead State University, Sept. 5, 2021.
» Thompson doubled her career high in shots with six, including three on frame, while also doubling her career-best for points in a match with four today.
» Jamie Lefebvre's assist is the first for the sophomore this season as well as in her career.
» Eastern now holds a 14-13-1 lead in the all-time series with Kent State and drops to 10-5-1 when the two teams met in Ypsilanti at Scicluna Field.

POST-MATCH NOTES - BUFFALO:
» Eastern slipped to 2-8-3 (1-4-1 MAC) on the year while Buffalo moved to 10-1-2 (4-0-2 MAC).
» Przybylo tied her season-high saves total of seven in the match with the previous instance coming against another Empire State foe earlier this year when she halted seven attempts from Syracuse University at home, Sept. 1.
» The Eagles were shut out for just the fourth time all year and saw its season-high-tying three-match scoring streak come to an end.
» Eastern was limited to four shots on the day with freshmen Lily Spotak and Arielle Fink recording the lone attempts on frame. Vittoria Greco and Hannah Thompson were the other two players to record one shot each.
» Despite the loss, the Eagles maintain the overall lead in the series as they hold an all-time record of 11-10-6 over the Bulls.
» Buffalo has now won two in a row in the series and two in a row when the teams meet in Buffalo.
» Eastern was shutout by the Bulls for the first time since a 1-0 loss at home Oct. 2, 2015, and for just the fourth time in the 27 matches played between the two sides.

BRACE YOURSELF: Entering the season, no Eagle had scored multiple goals in the same match since the 2019 season when Kristin Hullibarger Nason (4 vs. Ohio, Nov. 8), Lindsey Shira (2 vs. Western Michigan University, Oct. 28) and Sabrina McNeill (2 vs. Kent State, Oct. 18) combined for the accomplishment. That all changed this season as Hannah Thompson's brace against Kent State University, Oct. 6, marked the first of her career, the second in as many weeks for an Eastern player, and the third of the year for the team. Previously, Maddie O'Farrell bagged two at the University of Akron, Sept. 29, after Meagan Lukowski accomplished the feat first, Aug. 21. Additionally, with her goals, Thompson became the 19th different EMU freshman to bag a brace in her rookie season and the first since McNeill, Oct. 9, 2016, against Toledo.

SPOT ON: Thompson's second goal of the match with Kent State came from the penalty spot after Meagan Lukowski was pulled down in the box and awarded a penalty kick. With the conversion, Thompson became the 20th different Eagle to score from the spot in program history with the 32nd goal penalty kick scored (of 45 attempts). Her one score ties her for eighth all-time in Eastern history as well.

IN THE CLUB: Throughout program history, over 120 players have scored at least one goal for the Eagles (records of goal scorers are unavailable for matches in 1995 and 1996 seasons) with six individuals adding their names to the ledger this year. Vittoria Greco joined the list in the opening match of the year against Western Illinois, Aug. 18, with her rocket shot 1:31 into the season with Meagan Lukowski adding herself to the list with two goals at Illinois State, Aug. 21. Secora Johnson was the first freshman to join the list with her goal at St. Bonaventure University, Aug. 28, before Hannah Thompson added her name against Dartmouth College, Sept. 4, and Lily Spotak etched her name on the list against the University of Kentucky, Sept. 11. Sophia D'Ambra joined the list with her game-winner at Akron, Sept. 29.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Last year, Eastern struggled on offense, recording just 13 goals. Through 13 matches this year, the Eagles are off to a much better start with 17 goals, surpassing their 2021 total by four. Overall, nine different players have scored at least one goal, nine have recorded at least one assist, and 13 total players have recorded at least one point this year. Comparatively, the 2021 squad had nine different players scored goals (even), six record assists (-3), and 12 players (+1) tally at least one point.

SPREADING IT AROUND: Of those 13 players that have recorded at least one point in 2022, 10 are freshmen and sophomores, including four freshmen. Through the match at Buffalo, Oct. 9, the sophomores lead the way with team highs in goals (11), assists (8), and points (30), while the freshmen have chipped in the second-highest totals in all three categories, including five goals, three assists and 13 points. When breaking it down further, the freshmen and sophomores account for 94.1 percent (16-of-17) of the team's goals scored, 84.6 percent (11-of-13) of assists, and 91.5 percent (43-of-47) of points tallied.

DIGGING FOR (MILE)STONES: Ahead of the season, Eastern needed five victories to claim the 250th win in program history. With their 3-2 victory at Akron, Sept. 29, the Eagles now have two wins on the year and 247 all-time, needing just three more this year to hit 250.

UP NEXT: Two more matches are on the slate for Eastern next week, including the final regular season home match at Scicluna Field. First, the Eagles will travel to DeKalb, Ill., to face the Huskies of Northern Illinois University at 4 p.m. CT Thursday, Oct. 20. Then, Eastern will welcome the Falcons of Bowling Green State University to town for a 1 p.m. match at Scicluna Field, Oct. 23. Following the match, the program will honor Sarah Ash and Kylie Frantz with a Senior Day ceremony.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sarah Ash

Sophia D'Ambra

Arielle Fink

Kylie Frantz

Vittoria Greco

Secora Johnson

Meagan Lukowski

Maddie O'Farrell

Madeline Olson

Lindsey Shira

Lily Spotak

Hannah Thompson

Eastern Michigan Athletics