Soccer Faces Western Illinois in Season Opener

Match #1 - Western Illinois
Date	Thursday, Aug. 18 - 5 p.m.
Venue	Brighton, Mich. - Legacy Center Complex
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Match Program
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

Match #2 - Illinois State
Date	Sunday, Aug. 21 - 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m ET
Venue	Normal, Ill.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats \| Watch (ESPN+)
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer program will open its 2022 season this week as the Eagles will welcome the Western Illinois University Leathernecks to town for a 5 p.m. contest Thursday, Aug. 18. The first match of the Eagles' 28th season will be contested at the Legacy Center Sports Complex Fieldhouse in Brighton, Mich., as the new turf continues to be installed at Scicluna Field on campus.

The match with the Leathernecks will be one of two for the Eagles this weekend as Eastern is also set to travel to Normal, Ill., this Sunday, Aug. 21, for a meeting with Illinois State University. The Eagles and Redbirds will square off at 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET at Adelaide Street Field with the match set to stream live on ESPN+.

QUICK KICKS:
- Eastern Michigan is heading into its 28th varsity season, sporting a 245-223-60 record
- Head Coach Scott Hall is set to begin his 24th season at the helm of the program and carries an all-time record of 206-192-57 during his time in Ypsilanti
- The Eagles are five wins from their milestone 250th all-time victory
- Eastern is 12-8-7 overall in its season-opening match
- Eastern also is 13-9-5 in its first home match of the season
- Eastern holds a 10-12-5 record in its first road match of the year as well
- The Eagles open their season at home for the 15th time in program history and for the fourth year in a row (1-1-1 in the last three)
- The 2022 schedule features seven non-conference games with Eastern facing both Dartmouth College and the University of Kentucky for the first time in program history
- This year's roster features 25 players, including 11 freshmen, 10 sophomores, two juniors and two seniors
- Two new coaches have joined the staff this season, including Megan Miles, a former player (Megan Trapp) for Eastern, as an assistant coach, and Mike Sheehy as goalkeeper coach
- The playing surface at Scicluna Field is being replaced for this season as artificial turf will be installed for both the soccer and lacrosse teams to utilize

VENUE CHANGE: Thursday's match will be played inside the field house at Legacy Center Sports Complex in Brighton, Mich., as Eastern's normal home site, Scicluna Field, is unavailable as new turf is being installed. The artificial surface is being installed for Eastern's soccer and lacrosse teams to use for practices and games. For directions to the complex, click HERE.

NO-VERTIME: Starting this year, no overtime will be played during the regular season. All matches outside of the conference and national tournaments that are tied at the end of regulation will end immediately in a draw.

DIGGING FOR (MILE)STONES: With an all-time record of 245-223-60, the Eagles enter the season needing just five wins to reach another milestone: 250 wins. The last milestone Eastern reached was victory No. 225, a 2-0 home win over visiting Kent State University, Sept. 21, 2018.

EIGHT MORE: The Eagles have scored 792 all-time goals, leaving them eight shy of the 800-goal milestone. The latest addition to the milestone chart was goal No. 775, which came April 4, 2021, from Sabrina McNeill at home against Northern Illinois in the 34'.

LIFTING THE LID: The Eagles hold an all-time record of 12-8-7 in their season-opening match after falling to visiting Illinois State, 4-0, in last year's lid lifter (Aug. 19, 2021). Thursday's match with Western Illinois will mark the 15th time overall and fourth in a row Eastern has opened a campaign at home and stands 6-4-4 in those matches.

FRIENDLY CONFINES: The match with Western Illinois also will serve as Eastern's home opener. Historically, the Eagles hold a 13-9-5 mark in their first home match of a season with last year's 4-0 set back to Illinois State (Aug. 19, 2021) snapping an eight-match unbeaten streak (5-0-3) in home openers. It also marked just the second time in the last 10 home openers the Eagles were unable to find the back of the net with the other ending in a 0-0 draw with Butler (Aug. 21, 2016).

SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS: The Leathernecks are coming off a 2021 season in which they posted an 11-6-1 overall record and a 5-4-0 mark in the Summit League. Winners of their final four matches of last season, Western Illinois tallied 15 points in league play, missing the Summit playoffs by one point (Top 4 teams qualified). Offensively, the Leathernecks bring back graduate student Amy Andrews, who was third in the Summit last year with 12 goals scored and ranked fourth with 26 points. Defensively, goalkeeper Isabel Navas Rodriguez returns for her junior season after ranking fourth in saves (84) and sixth in goals-against average (1.56).

IN THE SERIES - WESTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern will be in search of its first result against Western Illinois Thursday with the Leathernecks having won each of the previous three meetings. The two teams met last year in Macomb, Ill., with the Eagles falling, 2-1, after Western Illinois tallied the winning goal on a penalty kick in the 89th minute. The only time the two teams have met previously in Michigan came back in 2006, a 1-0 loss for EMU in Ypsilanti.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: On Sunday, Eastern will venture to Normal, Ill., for a meeting with Illinois State and the Eagles' road opener. Eastern is 10-12-5 in its first road contest of the year and will be looking to snap a two-match slide that included last year's 3-0 loss at Michigan State (Aug. 22, 2021).

SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE: The Redbirds are coming off a 2021 campaign in which they finished with a 4-10-3 overall record and a 2-3-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. Allison Baker is the top returning scorer (3) for a side that will look to replace both their top goal scorer (Natalie Vaughn-Low, 5) and top keeper (Priya Gillan, 1.48 GAA).

IN THE SERIES - ILLINOIS STATE: The Eagles and Redbirds have met nine times previously with Eastern holding a 2-5-2 record in the series after suffering defeat in the past two meetings. Last year, the two sides met in Ypsilanti with Illinois State taking home a 4-0 win. The last time the teams met in Normal, Ill., came in 2018, a 1-0 loss for Eastern.

SEVEN FOR SEVEN: The 2022 non-conference schedule will see Eastern take on seven teams from seven different conferences, including facing a member of the Ivy League for the first time in program history. The Eagles are set to face Western Illinois (Aug. 18) from the Summit League (1-3-0), Illinois State (Aug. 21) from the Missouri Valley Conference (12-8-3), St. Bonaventure University (Aug. 28) from the Atlantic 10 Conference (3-3-1), Syracuse University (Sept. 1) from the Atlantic Coast Conference (1-4-1), Dartmouth (Sept. 4) from the Ivy League, Morehead State University (Sept. 8) from the Ohio Valley Conference (9-6-0), and Kentucky (Sept. 11) of the Southeastern Conference (0-1-0).

#MACTION: The league schedule will see Eastern play all 11 other MAC teams with five contests being played at home and six on the road. MAC play begins Sept. 22 with a visit from Central Michigan University and closes on Oct. 27 with a road trip to Miami University. The MAC Playoffs begin Oct. 30 at campus locations with the top-seeded team in the tournament playing host to the semifinals and final Nov. 3 and Nov. 6, respectively. The winner of the annual tournament will once again receive the MAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

FOLLOW THE LEADER: The 2022 campaign marks the 24th season Scott Hall will lead the Eagles and his 28th with the program after serving as an assistant coach the first four years the program existed. Sporting a career record of 206-192-57, Hall is the most tenured coach in the MAC and carries a record of 129-98-28 into the season. Hall has guided Eastern to four league titles, including the double in 1999 with the MAC regular season and tournament titles secured, along with adding regular season crowns in both 2003 and 2013. Hall's squads also made two other MAC Tournament finals appearances and qualified for 15 MAC Tournaments in all.

KEEPING ON: Hall's 24 years in charge in Ypsilanti are the most in the league with Kent State's Rob Marinaro (22 years) the only other coach to guide a women's soccer program in the MAC in double-digit seasons. Additionally, when Hall took over head coaching duties in 1999, two current MAC programs had yet to play a match (Ball State started in 1999; Akron in 2001) and seven MAC schools had just completed one of their first four varsity seasons.

2022 ROSTER: The 2022 Eagles' roster features 25 student-athletes, 21 of which are first or second-year players (more below). Comprised mainly of regional talent, nearly half of the roster hails from Michigan (12), while Ohio and Illinois each are represented by three players and Pennsylvania with one. Internationally, five Canadians are on the roster this year along with one German player.

FOUR UP: The young team will rely on four upperclassmen to set the tone this year. Sarah Ash and Kylie Frantz are back on the pitch for their senior campaigns while both Tiffanie Hollingsworth and Rebecca Przybylo are set for their junior seasons.

SECOND YEAR: The team will have 10 sophomores on the roster this year with eight of those individuals having seen playing time in 2021. Leading the charge are Jamie Lefebvre and Maddie O'Farrell, the two highest returning scorers for the team with four and three points, respectively. Two other sophomores also will look to build off their extended playing time from one year ago as Vittoria Greco and Sophia D'Ambra both ranked in the top seven in minutes played in 2021 with 1,393 (third) and 1,076 (#7) minutes played, respectively.

HELLO! MY NAME IS...: The Eagles welcomed 11 newcomers to the roster -- all freshmen -- including two goalkeepers, three defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards. The class includes: Sophia Baumann, Arielle Fink, Mary Grimes, Kevser Guendogdu, Emily Iafrate, Sofia Iori, Secora Johnson, Meghan Oliver, Cailyn Smith, Lily Spotak, and Hannah Thompson.

IT'S A TRAPP!: One of two new additions to the coaching roster for 2022 is Megan Miles, who will serve as an assistant coach. A 2016 graduate of Eastern and a four-year member of the soccer program (2012-15), the former Megan Trapp returns to campus following several coaching stints throughout the area, most recently with Detroit City FC Youth West. Miles also has served as an assistant coach with Lawrence Technical University, Concordia University of Ann Arbor, and Michigan Tigers FC. She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Concordia.

HE'S A KEEPER: Mike Sheehy also is new to the fold this year, but certainly not new to goalkeeping and coaching. With over 32 years of experience, the former collegiate standout at Oakland University has worked with numerous keepers at the collegiate, club, and youth levels throughout the state. Most recently, Sheehy worked with the men's goalkeepers at Schoolcraft College after working with the women's keepers at the University of Detroit Mercy. His time coaching club teams dates back to 1992 while his time working with high school teams dates back to 1990. All told, three of Sheehy's players at UDM earned Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year honors during his time with the Titans.

FOLLOW ALONG: You can follow the Eagles on your favorite social media platforms, including Twitter (@EMUSoccer), Instagram (@EMUSoccer), and Facebook (Eastern Michigan Soccer).

UP NEXT: With two matches in their rearview, the Eagles will remain on the road for one contest next week as they travel to meet the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure on Sunday, Aug. 28. The match is set for a 1 p.m. ET and will be played at the Tom '80 and Michelle Marra Athletics Field Complex.

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Ash

Sophia Baumann

Sophia D'Ambra

Arielle Fink

Kylie Frantz

Vittoria Greco

Mary Grimes

Kevser Guendogdu

Tiffanie Hollingsworth

Emily Iafrate

Sofia Iori

Secora Johnson

Jamie Lefebvre

Maddie O'Farrell

Meghan Oliver

Rebecca Przybylo

Cailyn Smith

Lily Spotak

Hannah Thompson

Eastern Michigan Athletics