Soccer Opens MAC Play This Week With CMU, BSU

Match #8 - Central Michigan
Date	Thursday, Sept. 2 - 4 p.m.
Venue	Scicluna Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

Match #9 - Ball State
Date	Sunday, Sept. 25 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Muncie, Ind.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Following a week off from competition, the Eastern Michigan University soccer team returns to the pitch this week with its first two Mid-American Conference matches of the 2022 season. The Eagles (1-4-2, 0-0-0 MAC) will open league action Thursday, Sept. 22, at 4 p.m. with Central Michigan University (1-5-1, 0-0-0 MAC) visiting Scicluna Field on the Ypsilanti campus. The Eagles will also play their first MAC road contest Sunday, Sept. 25, when they face Ball State University (1-3-3, 0-0-0 MAC) at 1 p.m. in Muncie, Ind.

QUICK KICKS:
» Eastern Michigan is playing its 28th varsity season and sports a 246-227-62 record.
» Head Coach Scott Hall is currently in his 24th season at the helm of the program and holds an all-time record of 207-196-59 during his time in Ypsilanti.
» The Eagles are four wins from their milestone 250th all-time victory.
» Eastern is 140-102-30 all-time in the Mid-American Conference and sports a 14-7-4 record in its opening league contest of the year.
» The Eagles are 17-5-3 in their first home MAC match of the season and is 9-0-1 when their first league match of the season is played at home.
» When Eastern heads to Ball State Sunday, it will look to better its 8-11-6 record in its first MAC road contest of the year.
» Lily Spotak scored her first collegiate goal as the freshman opened her account with a strike at Kentucky (Sept. 11). It also gives her the first two points of her career.
» Spotak is the fifth Eagle to score her first collegiate goal and the third freshman with all three rookie goals standing as the last three goals scored. The others that have scored include Secora Johnson at St. Bonaventure (Aug. 28) and Hannah Thompson against Dartmouth (Sept. 4).
» With her goal against the Wildcats, Spotak became the seventh different player to tally at least one goal this season and the 10th Eagle with at least one point.
» Spotak's goal also stands as the 325th road goal scored in program history, which came one game after Thompson scored the 800th overall goal in program history (vs. Dartmouth). Spotak is now the 119th different player to record at least one goal for Eastern.
» So far this year, the Eagles have scored nine goals and added seven assists for 25 points. When breaking it down by class, the freshmen and sophomores account for 88.9 percent (8-of-9) of the goals scored, 71.4 percent (5-of-7) of assists, and 84.0 percent (21-of-25) of points tallied.
» The last time out (at Morehead State on Sept. 8, and at Kentucky on Sept. 11), four players added firsts to their careers. Against the Eagles (MSU), both Kevser Guendogdu and Thompson earned their first career starts. Against the Wildcats, Meghan Oliver and Tess Williams became the ninth and 10th different players, respectively, to earn their first collegiate minutes this year.

BACK TO YPSILANTI: After playing its first three home matches off campus in Brighton, Mich. (two at the Legacy Center Sports Complex and one at Brighton High School) this season while renovations were finishing up on campus, the Eagles are set to play their first match of 2022 on the newly installed turf of Scicluna Field. Over the summer, the grass surface was removed and a new turf surface was installed and lined for both soccer and lacrosse, who begin their inaugural season this spring. Admission to all home matches this season are free.

RETURN OF THE MAC(TION): Thursday's match with Central Michigan will mark the conference opener for both sides. Ahead of the match, the Eagles hold an all-time record of 14-7-4 in league lid lifters and are undefeated in their last two with a 0-0 draw at Ball State last year (Sept. 23) and a 2-1 win at CMU for the 2020 season (March 4, 2021). Additionally, Eastern will be opening its MAC slate at home for the 11th time in program history and will look to keep its record nearly spotless as the Eagles enter with a 9-0-1 all-time record when their first MAC game is played at home. EMU has won three in a row when opening league play at home, including wins of 2-1 over CMU (March 4, 2021), 2-0 over Kent State (Sept. 21, 2018) and 4-1 over Northern Illinois (Sept. 27, 2013).

HOME MAC OPENER: Eastern enters Thursday's conference home opener against Central Michigan with an all-time record of 17-5-3 in their first MAC home contest of the season. The Eagles are looking to rebound from last year's 2-1 setback to visiting Miami (Sept. 26, 2021) that ended a three-match winning streak in home MAC openers. Thursday will mark the third time Central Michigan has been Eastern's opening home foe with the Eagles posting 2-1 wins in both the 2020 (March 4, 2021) and 2002 (Sept. 13, 2002) seasons. Eastern has outscored the visitors, 52-19, in its first MAC home game of the year and posted 11 shutouts as well.

ROAD MAC OPENER: Sunday's contest at Ball State will be the first MAC road match of the season for the Eagles. To date, Eastern is 8-11-6 in its first road MAC match and will look to snap a three-match winless slide (0-2-1) after playing Ball State to a 0-0 draw in last year's road opener. The last time the Eagles won their first MAC road contest of the year came in 2018, a 1-0 overtime victory at Akron (Sept. 28, 2018). Sunday will mark the third time Eastern's first road MAC match comes in Muncie, Ind., with the Eagles standing 1-1-1.

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Chippewas stand 1-5-1 on the year with a 1-1 draw at home to Eastern Illinois coming in their most recent match (Sept. 11). Central and Eastern have played one common opponent with the Chippewas dropping a 1-0 score in their season-opener at Morehead State. Individually, three players have scored two goals each for CMU, including Jaelyn Dobrowolski, Megan Logue, and Matilda Melin. On defense, two goalkeepers have seen time in the net with Emma Shingler stopping 21 shots and Kendall Krupiczweicz halting 14.

IN THE SERIES - EMU vs CMU: The Eagles and Chippewas will be meeting for the 27th time with Eastern holding the advantage in the series with a 16-7-3 record, including an 8-4-1 mark when the match is played in Ypsilanti. The last time the two sides met came last year in Ypsilanti, a 2-1 overtime loss for the Eagles (Oct. 28, 2021). That loss snapped a four-match winning streak for the Eagles in the series and a two-match home winning streak against the Chippewas. Overall, Eastern holds a 37-23 scoring advantage (21-12 at home) in the series and has recorded 12 shutouts against Central all-time.

SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ahead of this week's action, which includes their MAC opener on the road at Miami (Sept. 22), the Cardinals stand 1-3-3 overall with their most recent match ending in a 2-2 draw at Butler (Sept. 15). The two sides share a common opponent in Kentucky, who Ball State opened the year with in Lexington, Ky., with a 3-0 loss. Individually, Avery Fenchel leads the way for Ball State with eight points on four goals and is the only player with multiple goals on the roster this season. Defensively, the Cardinals have posted three shutouts this season with Bethany Moser leading the way with 26 saves and a 1.44 goals against average.

IN THE SERIES - EMU vs BSU: The Eagles trail the Cardinals in their all-time series, 8-14-3, but played to a 0-0 draw in Muncie last year (Sept. 23) to halt a two-match losing skid. Eastern is 4-7-1 when playing at Ball State and 1-1-1 in its last three on the Cardinals' home turf with the win, a 2-1 decision in the MAC Tournament (Nov. 3, 2019), the last win in the series for Eastern. Taking out the scoreless draw in the last meeting, the previous five contests have all been decided by one goal.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Prior to their week off from competition, the Eagles traveled to the Bluegrass State and fell in a pair of matches, 1-0 at Morehead State (Sept. 8) and 5-1 at Kentucky (Sept. 11). With the losses, Eastern slipped to 1-4-2 overall in 2022.

POST-MATCH NOTES - MOREHEAD STATE:
» The match at Morehead State (Sept. 8) marked the second time in three matches the Eagles went into halftime tied 0-0 but came out on the short end of the score line after dropping a 2-0 decision to visiting Syracuse Sept. 1.
» Eastern fell to 1-2-1 in 2022 when firing more shots in the game after out-shooting MSU, 11-3.
» Maddie O'Farrell, Meagan Lukowski, and Jamie Lefebvre led the way offensively as the trio combined for seven of the team's 11 shots with O'Farrell posting a game-high three.
» Kevser Guendogdu logged her first collegiate minutes and also earned her first career start as the rookie was in the Starting XI and played the full 90 in her debut.
» Guendogdu faced just three shots in her debut with one on frame and two going wide.
» Hannah Thompson, the lone goal scorer last week in the 1-1 draw with visiting Dartmouth (Sept. 4), earned her first collegiate start.

POST-MATCH NOTES - KENTUCKY:
» The five goals allowed are the most since Eastern lost at Toledo, 6-1, Oct. 10, 2019. The five goals also are the most allowed out of conference since Sept. 8, 2019, in a 5-1 road loss at Creighton.
» Lily Spotak's goal is the first of her collegiate career and gives her first career points as well.
» Spotak is the fifth Eagle to score her first collegiate goal this year and the third freshman with all three rookie goals standing as the last three goals scored. The others include Secora Johnson at St. Bonaventure (Aug. 28) and Hannah Thompson against Dartmouth (Sept. 4).
» With her goal, Spotak is the seventh different player to tally at least one goal this season and the 10th Eagle with at least one point compared to last year's totals that saw nine players with at least one goal and 12 with points.
» The goal for Spotak is the 325th goal scored on the road in program history and makes her the 119th different player in program history to record at least one goal for the Eagles.
» Thompson, who was the last freshman to score (vs. Dartmouth, Sept. 4), added her first career assist on Spotak's strike. Her assist makes her the seventh Eagle with a helper in 2022, one more than the six players with assists last year.
» Kevser Guendogdu entered the match as a substitute in the 70' and, six minutes later, she dove to her left to make a save on a UK shot, the first save of her collegiate career.

OPENING HER ACCOUNT: The lone goal in the loss at Kentucky (Sept. 11) came off the foot of freshman Lily Spotak, marking the first time in her career the rookie has scored a collegiate goal while also accumulating the first two points of her career. She is the fifth Eagle to score her first collegiate goal this year with the last three tallied (as of Sept. 11) all coming by way of rookies: Secora Johnson at St. Bonaventure (Aug. 28), Hannah Thompson at home against Dartmouth (Sept. 4) and Spotak at Kentucky.

IN THE CLUB: Throughout program history, at least 119 players have scored at least one goal for the Eagles (records of goal scorers are unavailable for matches in 1995 and 1996 seasons) with five individuals adding their names to the ledger this year. Vittoria Greco joined the list in the opening match of the year with her rocket shot 1:31 into the season with Meagan Lukowski adding herself to the list with two goals at Illinois State University. Secora Johnson was the first freshman to join the list with her goal at St. Bonaventure before Hannah Thompson added her name against Dartmouth and Spotak etched her name on the list against Kentucky.

ANOTHER MILESTONE: Lily Spotak's goal was not only the first of her career, but also stands as the 325th all-time goal scored by the Eagles on the road. The last milestone road goal was No. 300 that was scored by Kristin Hullbarger Nason at Toledo on Oct. 10, 2019.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Last year, Eastern struggled on offense, recording just 13 goals. Through seven matches this year, the Eagles are off to a much better start with nine goals, leaving them just four shy of equaling their 2021 total. Overall, seven different players have scored at least one goal, six have recorded at least one assist, and 10 total players have recorded at least one point this year. Comparatively, the 2021 squad had nine different players scored goals (+2), six record assists (equal), and 12 players (+2) tally at least one point.

SPREADING IT AROUND: Of those 10 players that have recorded at least one point in 2022, seven are freshmen and sophomores, including four freshmen. Through the match with Kentucky (Sept. 11), the sophomores lead the way with team highs in goals (five), assists (three), and points (13), while the freshmen have chipped in the second-highest totals in all three categories, including three goals, two assists and eight points. When breaking it down further, the freshmen and sophomores account for 88.9 percent (8-of-9) of the team's goals scored, 71.4 percent (5-of-7) of assists, and 84.0 percent (21-of-25) 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 4-0 win at Illinois State (Aug. 21), the Eagles are perched on 246 all-time victories, needing just four more for the milestone.

NEW TO THE XI: Ahead of the Dartmouth match (Sept. 4), no freshmen had found their way into the Starting XI. That changed when Lily Spotak earned a place in the starting lineup. On the road at Morehead State (Sept. 8), two more freshmen earned their first collegiate starts with Kevser Guendogdu and Hannah Thompson each earning places in the Starting XI.

DEBUTANTES: So far in 2022, 10 different players have made their collegiate debuts with freshman Kevser Guendogdu (at Morehead State, Sept. 8) and both freshman Meghan Oliver and sophomore Tess Williams each logging their first collegiate minutes at Kentucky (Sept. 11). Prior to the trip to the Bluegrass State, the members of the freshman class that had logged minutes this year included Arielle Fink, Mary Grimes, Emily Iafrate, Secora Johnson, Lily Spotak, Cailyn Smith, and Hannah Thompson.

UP NEXT: Eastern will be back in action with two more matches in the MAC as the Eagles will travel to the University of Akron before welcoming Ohio University. The week starts Thursday, Sept. 29, in a 7 p.m. kickoff in Akron with the Zips before the Eagles and Bobcats close out the week at Scicluna Field in Ypsilanti with a 1 p.m. kickoff.

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Players Mentioned

Arielle Fink

Vittoria Greco

Mary Grimes

Kevser Guendogdu

Emily Iafrate

Secora Johnson

Jamie Lefebvre

Meagan Lukowski

Maddie O'Farrell

Meghan Oliver

Cailyn Smith

Lily Spotak

Hannah Thompson

Tess Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics