Soccer Set to Host Syracuse, Dartmouth This Week

Match #4 - Syracuse
Date	Thursday, Sept. 1 - 5 p.m.
Venue	Brighton, Mich. - Legacy Center Complex
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Match Program
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

Match #5 - Dartmouth
Date	Sunday, Aug. 21 - 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m ET
Venue	Brighton, Mich. - Legacy Center Complex
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Match Program
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer team returns home for a pair of matches this week as the Eagles (1-1-1, 0-0-0 MAC) are set to play host to both Syracuse University (3-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC) and Dartmouth College (2-0-0, 0-0-0 IVY). The Eagles and Orange will meet at 5 p.m. inside the fieldhouse at the Legacy Center Sports Complex in Brighton, Mich., Thursday before Eastern welcomes the Big Green to the Legacy Center for a 1 p.m. contest Sunday afternoon.

QUICK KICKS:
»    Eastern Michigan is playing its 28th varsity season and sports a 246-224-61 record.
»    The Eagles are coming off an 0-1-0 week that saw them drop a 1-3 decision at St. Bonaventure University.
»    Head Coach Scott Hall is currently in his 24th season at the helm of the program and holds an all-time record of 207-193-58 during his time in Ypsilanti.
»    The Eagles are four wins from their milestone 250th all-time victory.
»    Eastern has scored 799 goals all-time in program history, needing just one more to reach 800.
»    The Eagles have now scored in each of their first three matches of 2022 after not scoring in either of their first three matches last year.
»    Eastern's three-match scoring streak is the longest to start the season since scoring in its first three matches of the 2013 campaign.
»    Historically, the seven-match scoring streak ranks as the 14th-longest in program history and marks the 20th time the Eagles have scored in seven or more consecutive matches.
»    Secora Johnson scored the lone goal at SBU, which also stands as the freshman's first collegiate goal scored, and makes her the lone rookie on the team to have tallied a goal in 2022.
»    So far this year, Johnson is the third player to record her first collegiate goal for the Eagles and the fifth different goal scorer in 2022.
»    Cailyn Smith made her Eastern debut Sunday at SBU, making her the seventh member of the program to earn her first collegiate minutes this season.

VENUE CHANGE: Both matches this week will be played inside the fieldhouse at Legacy Center Sports Complex in Brighton, Mich., as Eastern's normal home site, Scicluna Field, is unavailable as new turf is being installed. Directions to Legacy Center can be found HERE.

SCOUTING SYRACUSE: The Orange will be playing their first road contest of the season after opening the year with a 3-1 mark at home, including wins over the University of New Hampshire (2-1), Lafayette University (4-1), and, most recently, Siena University (2-0), with an 0-6 loss to the University of Connecticut as well. Ten different players have recorded at least one point in the year with six different players scoring at least one goal. Erin Fluery and Anna Rupert lead the way with two goals each for the Orange. Defensively, three keepers have seen minutes so far in 2022 with Shea Vanderbosch tallying a team-high 225 minutes in goal to accompany her 2-0-0 record and 13 saves.

IN THE SERIES - EMU vs SU: The Eagles and Orange have met just once previously in their all-time series with Syracuse taking a 2-1 victory last year in New York. Maddie O'Farrell got the visiting Eagles on the board first as she scored in the 64' for a 1-0 lead. The Orange, however, came back to win the contest with goals in the 73' and 88'.

SCOUTING DARTMOUTH: The Big Green, who open their week at Michigan State University Thursday afternoon, enter the week with a 2-0-0 record after back-to-back 2-0 wins over Fordham University at home and Sacred Heart University on the road. Five different players have recorded at least one point with four different players leading the team with one goal scored. Defensively, Charlotte Cyr has played all 180 minutes in net and saved all 13 shots faced to keep two clean sheets to open the season.

IN THE SERIES - EMU vs DC: The match Sunday will mark the first meeting between Eastern Michigan and Dartmouth.

THAT'S NEW: Not only will Sunday's match mark the first time Eastern and Dartmouth have met, it also will mark the first time the Eagles have faced a foe from the Ivy League.

WEEK IN REVIEW: The Eagles dropped a 3-1 decision at St. Bonaventure Sunday in Eastern's lone match of the week. The Bonnies jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead through 16 minutes before Secora Johnson scored her first collegiate goal to pull one back for the visitors. After holding possession much of the second half and sending a barrage of shots (13-3) on goal, the Bonnies kept the Eagles off the board and added an 88' goal for the final 3-1 margin.

POST-MATCH NOTES - ST. BONAVENTURE:
»    With the loss, Eastern falls to 1-1-1 on the year and suffers their first defeat of 2022.
»    Eastern falls to 0-1-1 in its series with the Bonnies after the two sides played to a 1-1 draw last year in Ypsilanti.
»    Johnson's goal pulled the Eagles closer to a pair of milestones as her tally stands as the 799th all-time goal scored in program history and the 324th road goal recorded.
»    With the goal and dating back to last season, the Eagles have scored in seven-consecutive matches, tying the most recent streak of consecutive games with at least one goal in 2019.
»    Johnson is the third different EMU player -- and the only freshman so far -- to score her first collegiate goal this year with each match seeing a new name added to the list, including Vittoria Greco in the opener with Western Illinois and Meagan Lukowski in the 4-0 win at Illinois State.
»    The goal for Johnson makes her the fifth different Eagle to score a goal this year and the eighth different player to record at least one point in the campaign.
»    Eastern out-shot SBU, 22-10, with four players recording at least three shots, including Greco's team-high four.
»    One more newcomer made her collegiate debut in the match with freshman Cailyn Smith seeing several minutes of playing time at the end of the first half. She is the seventh different player to make her debut in 2022.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Last year, Eastern struggled on the offensive side of the ball, recording just 13 goals. Through three matches this year, the Eagles are off to a much better start with seven goals, leaving them just over half way to their 2021 total. Additionally, in those three matches this year, Eastern has seen eight different players record at least one point with five players scoring at least one goal and six players assisting at least once. Last year, 12 players had points with nine scoring goals and six (the same amount already this year) recording an assist.

STREAKING: Dating back to last year, the Eagles are currently on a seven-match goal-scoring streak, marking the 20th time in program history the team has had a seven-match or longer stretch. The streak, which equals the most recent streak of seven recorded during the 2020 (played in Spring 2021) season, is currently the 14th-longest in program history. A score against Syracuse this Thursday would mark eight matches in a row and move the streak into a tie for the ninth-longest. Overall, the longest stretch recorded in program history is 18 matches which saw the Eagles score at least one goal in the final nine contests of 2000 and the first nine of 2001.

STRONG START: The Eagles have scored at least one goal in each of the their first three matches of the season for only the 12th time in program history with the most recent three-match stretch coming in 2013 (five goals in the opening three matches). Overall, the current opening streak is tied for the sixth-longest with the next closest in line coming in 2000 with five-consecutive matches. The record came in the second season of varsity play as Eastern scored at least one goal in their opening 10 matches (20 goals scored).

DIGGING FOR (MILE)STONES: With their 3-1 loss at St. Bonaventure, the Eagles saw their all-time record slip to 246-223-61. With the win over Illinois State University two weeks ago, Eastern moved to four wins away from a 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.

JUST NEED ONE: The victory milestone is not the only chase that is on currently. The next goal credited to the Eagles will go down as the 800th in program history. Over the weekend, Secora Johnson's goal in the 43' at St. Bonaventure marked the 799th all-time goal in Eastern history.

DEBUTANTES: So far in 2022, seven different players have made their collegiate debuts with Cailyn Smith adding her name to the ledger after recording her first minutes played at St. Bonaventure. Smith joins fellow rookies Arielle Fink, Mary Grimes, Emily Iafrate, Secora Johnson, Lily Spotak, and Hannah Thompson as freshmen who have made their collegiate debuts in 2022.

UP NEXT: Eastern returns to the road next with a pair of matches slated for the Bluegrass State. First, the Eagles will face Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky., on Thursday, Sept. 8, in a 6 p.m. match. The weekend comes to a close in Lexington, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 11, with a 1 p.m. meeting with the University of Kentucky. The matches will be the final contests of Eastern's non-conference schedule.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Arielle Fink

Vittoria Greco

Mary Grimes

Emily Iafrate

Secora Johnson

Meagan Lukowski

Maddie O'Farrell

Cailyn Smith

Lily Spotak

Hannah Thompson

Eastern Michigan Athletics