Soccer Closes Out Non-Conference Slate in Kentucky

Match #4 - Morehead State
Date	Thursday, Sept. 8 - 6 p.m.
Venue	Morehead, Ky.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats \| Watch
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

Match #7 - Kentucky
Date	Sunday, Sept. 11 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Lexington, Ky.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats \| Watch
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

MOREHEAD, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer team is set to complete its non-conference schedule this weekend as the Eagles (1-2-2, 0-0-0 MAC) travel to the Bluegrass State with matches against Morehead State University (2-3-1, 0-0-0 OVC) and the University of Kentucky (5-1-0, 0-0-0 SEC). The trip opens with two Eagles squaring off Thursday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m. ET in Morehead, Ky., before Eastern closes the trip Sunday, Sept. 11, at 1 p.m. ET in Lexington, Ky.

QUICK KICKS:
» Eastern Michigan is playing its 28th varsity season and sports a 246-225-62 record after going 0-1-1 last week (L, 0-2, H vs. Syracuse University & T, 1-1, H vs. Dartmouth College).
» Head Coach Scott Hall is currently in his 24th season at the helm of the program and holds an all-time record of 207-194-59 during his time in Ypsilanti.
» The Eagles are four wins from their milestone 250th all-time victory.
» Hannah Thompson's 67' goal against Dartmouth not only tied the score and stood as her first collegiate goal, it also was the 800th goal scored in program history.
» Thompson is the second freshman to score a goal this year (Secora Johnson) and 118th different Eagle to post at least one goal in program history.
» Thompson also is the fourth player to record her first collegiate goal for the Eagles, the sixth different EMU goal scorer in 2022, and the ninth different player to record at least one point.
» So far this season, the Eagles have found the back of the net eight times after having scored just 13 times last season. Eastern's eighth goal of the year came in its fifth match this year after not arriving until the 12th match last year, a 2-1 win at Northern Illinois University (Oct. 3, 2021).
» In its match with Dartmouth, Eastern fired 23 shots, a season high for the team and tied for the most in a match for any MAC team in 2022 with Ohio also firing 23 shots Sunday in its match with VMI.
» Lily Spotak earned a spot in her first collegiate Starting XI as she was on the pitch to start Eastern's match with Dartmouth Sunday afternoon.

SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE: The Eagles enter the week with a 2-3-1 overall record and stand 1-0-0 against members of the MAC after opening the season at home with a 1-0 defeat of visiting Central Michigan University. MSU is 1-1-1 at home overall having lost 4-0 to James Madison University and drawing, 1-1, with Queens University of Charlotte (N.C.). Individually, the Eagles are paced offensively by Hadley Cytron's six points on two goals and two assists with Nicole Fiantaco adding two goals and one assist. Defensively, Michelle Jerantowski is the lone player to log minutes in goal, saving 18 shots and allowing 10 goals for a 1.67 goals-against average.

IN THE SERIES - EMU vs MSU: Thursday's meeting between the Eagles will mark the second in series history with Eastern taking a 2-1 victory last year in Ypsilanti (Sept. 5, 2021). Last year, Madeline Olson converted a penalty kick in the 16' before Jamie Lefebvre scored her first career goal in 81' for a 2-0 lead. MSU pulled one back at 88:10 to cut the lead to 2-1, but that is where the match scoring would end with Eastern picking up its first win of the 2021 season.

SCOUTING KENTUCKY: The Wildcats hold a 5-1-0 record on the year with a 4-0-0 mark at home following a 4-0 win over visiting Iowa State University last week. UK, who will play Wright State University at home before its match with Eastern, opened the year 4-0-0 before dropping a 1-0 decision at Western Kentucky last Thursday. Twelve different players have scored at least one goal for UK this year with four players netting at least two, including team-leader Jordyn Rhodes, who has three on the year. Defensively, Tallulah Miller has seen all minutes in the goal and has stopped 12 shots while allowing just three goals for a 0.50 GAA.

IN THE SERIES - EMU vs UK: The Eagles and Wildcats will be meeting for the first time Sunday. Additionally, the match will mark just the second time in program history Eastern has played a member of the Southeastern Conference with the first coming nearly 21 years ago. The initial match against an SEC foe came Sept. 28, 2001, with the Eagles dropping a 3-0 decision in Athens, Ga., at the University of Georgia.

WEEK IN REVIEW: The Eagles posted an 0-1-1 record last week as Eastern dropped an 0-2 decision to visiting Syracuse Thursday night at Brighton High School's Sloan Field before bouncing back for a 1-1 draw against Dartmouth in Sunday's come-from-behind result. In the opener, the Eagles and Orange were locked in a back-and-forth affair and were scoreless at the break. Chelsea Domond scored in the 51' and 71' to give the Orange the 2-0 win. On Sunday, the visiting Big Green took a 1-0 lead at the 24' in what was a scrappy, fast-paced contest. After the break, the Eagles got on the board as freshman Hannah Thompson went to work in front of the goal as she weaved through a pair of defenders at the top of the box and fired home her first collegiate goal to help Eastern come from behind and snare a result with its second tie of the season.

POST-MATCH NOTES - SYRACUSE:
» EMU had five total shots on the day with five different players each recording one, including Sophia D'Ambra, Maddie O'Farrell, Vittoria Greco, Jamie Lefebvre, and Cailyn Smith.
» Smith, who graduated from Brighton High School last year, recorded her first collegiate shot and did so on her high school's home field.
» Syracuse has won both meetings in the series after taking a 2-1 decision last year at Syracuse.
» The Eagles are now 1-5-1 against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
» The last time Eastern posted a result against a current ACC member came in a 0-0 draw at Pittsburgh Aug. 19, 2011, the Panthers' last year in the Big East Conference before joining the ACC. The lone win against a current ACC foe was also against Pitt in a 2-1 win at Bowling Green on Aug. 27, 2004.
» The shutout marked the first time EMU had not scored in a game this season, halting its seven-match streak dating back to last year in which they had scored at least one time per contest.

POST-MATCH NOTES - DARTMOUTH:
» Hannah Thompson had a career day as she not only scored her first collegiate goal, but also tallied her first collegiate points and nearly tripled her season shot totals after five taken Sunday (entered the day with two total shots on the year).
» Thompson's goal was not only the first of her career, it also stands as the 800th goal scored in program history. The last milestone goal came on Oct. 24, 2019, when Amanda Cripps bagged the program's 750th all-time goal in a 3-2 loss to visiting University of Akron.
» So far this season, the Eagles have found the back of the net eight times after having scored just 13 times last season. Eastern's eighth goal of the year came in its fifth match this year after not arriving until the 12th match last year, a 2-1 win at Northern Illinois University (Oct. 3, 2021).
» Thompson is the second freshman to score for Eastern this season with fellow rookie Secora Johnson scoring at St. Bonaventure University Aug. 28.
» The Eagles opened their own range as they fired 23 shots on the day, including 10 in the first half and 13 in the second half. Four different players registered at least three shots in the contest with Maddie O'Farrell leading the way with a career-high seven and Thompson adding five.
» Lily Spotak made her first career start for the Eagles after having appeared in each of the previous four matches as a substitute in her first four collegiate matches.

GREAT 8(00): With her goal against Dartmouth, Hannah Thompson netted the 800th goal in program history. Through Sunday's contest with the Big Green, Eastern has scored 800 goals all-time and allowed 763.

IN THE CLUB: Throughout program history, at least 118 players have scored at least one goal for the Eagles (records of goal scorers are unavailable for matches in 1995 and 1996 seasons) with four 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 University before Hannah Thompson added her name Sunday against the Big Green.

ONE AWAY: Heading into this week's venture to the Bluegrass State, the Eagles will need just one goal to reach a minor milestone as Eastern has scored 324 goals in road matches since the start of the program in 1995. The last milestone road goal was No. 300 that was scored by Kristin Hullbarger Nason at Toledo on Oct. 10, 2019.

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 University earlier this season, the Eagles are perched on 246 all-time victories, needing just four more for the milestone.

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

NEW TO THE XI: Ahead of the Dartmouth contest, Lily Spotak was named to the Starting XI, marking the first time the freshman earned a collegiate start. Also the first rookie on the 2022 roster to earn her first collegiate start, Spotak was the lone change to a lineup that had been unchanged in the previous four matches.

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 two weeks ago. 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: The Eagles will have 11 days off from competition as their next contest doesn't arrive until Thursday, Sept. 22, with a visit from Central Michigan University. The MAC opener for both sides will kick off at 4 p.m. and will be played at Scicluna Field on the EMU campus. Eastern also will play its first MAC road match of 2022 that weekend when the Eagles head to Muncie, Ind., for a 1 p.m. match at Ball State University on Sunday, Sept. 25.

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

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Cripps

Sophia D'Ambra

Arielle Fink

Vittoria Greco

Mary Grimes

Emily Iafrate

Secora Johnson

Jamie Lefebvre

Meagan Lukowski

Maddie O'Farrell

Madeline Olson

Cailyn Smith

Lily Spotak

Hannah Thompson

Eastern Michigan Athletics