Lacrosse Set to Face Xavier, St. Bonaventure

Lacrosse at Xavier
Date	Sunday, March 12 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Cincinnati, Ohio \| Corcoran Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF ) \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Digital Programs
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Twitter	FloSports ($)
Social Media	Instagram: @emu_Lacrosse \| Twitter: @EMU_Lacrosse

Lacrosse vs. St. Bonaventure
Date	Tuesday, March 14 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Scicluna Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF ) \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Digital Programs
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Twitter	@EMU_Lacrosse \| @EMUAthletics
Instagram	@emu_Lacrosse \| @emuathletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team, coming off its first win in program history, is set to play a pair of games in the coming days as the Eagles will travel to face fellow first-year program Xavier University before playing host to St. Bonaventure University. The Eagles (1-2) will venture to Cincinnati, Ohio, March 12, to meet the Musketeers (3-3) in a 2 p.m. contest at Corcoran Field that will be streamed live on FloSports before returning home, March 14, for a 2 p.m. game with the Bonnies (1-5).

OPENING DRAWS:
» Eastern claimed its first program victory in its most recent game, scoring a 12-7 win over visiting Delaware State, March 7, at Scicluna Field.
» The 12 goals scored against DSU set a single-game record for the Eagles, surpassing the 11 scored at Winthrop, March 3.
» The Eagles also upped their single-game record in points to 15 (12g-3a), bettering the 11 tallied at Winthrop, March. 3.
» Avery Schwab recorded the first hat trick in program history as she poured in three goals in the first quarter against the Hornets, March 7.
» Sylar Hilmer, who also recorded a hat trick, saw her second goal of the day stand as the game-winning strike, the first in program history.
» The team recorded a record 31 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers against Delaware State, bettering the previous marks of 18 and 11, respectively. On the year, the Eagles currently rank first in the MAC and 28th nationally in caused turnovers per game (9.67) and second in the league and 18th in the NCAA in ground balls per game (18.67).
» Individually, a trio of Eagles are ranked nationally on the defensive side of the ball with Giuliana Ditsky ranking 14th in ground balls per game (3.33) while Sydney Lawrence (2.00) and Gina Jaffurs (1.67) rank 18th and 48th in the NCAA, respectively, in caused turnovers per game.
» Eastern ranks seventh in the seven-team MAC in shots per game (20.33), but is making the most of those chances as the Eagles rank second by scoring on 44.3 percent of those shots, which ranks 42nd nationally as well.
» The game at Xavier will see a pair of first-year programs meet. The Eagles and Musketeers, along with Clemson, are the three newest women's programs in the NCAA this year.

SCOUTING XAVIER: The Musketeers, like the Eagles, are one of three new women's programs that began play this year (along with Clemson) and carry a 3-3 record in to the weekend after falling at Wofford, March 7, 15-14. Despite being a first-year program, Xavier has seen five of its six games finish within three goals, including a trio of one-goal finishes. The Musketeers are 0-1 at home after falling to Detroit Mercy, 11-10, Feb. 19. Offensively, XU is averaging 12.5 goals per game with Lola Mancuso and Riley Halloran leading the way with 22 and 15 goals, respectively. Marina Piszczor has seen action in goal in all six games, starting five, and is saving 47.3 percent of the shots she has faced.

SCOUTING ST. BONAVENTURE: The Bonnies enter the week with a 1-5 record and will play at Virginia Commonwealth, March 11, in their Atlantic 10 opener. SBU has lost two in a row, including a 22-6 defeat at Bucknell, March 4, in its most recent game. That game came after a pair of two-goal games, including a 12-10 win against Akron, Feb. 25, and a 14-12 loss at home to Siena, March 1. Individually, Fiona McGovern leads the way with 20 points on 13 goals and seven assists with Jessica Notaro adding 12 goals for the Bonnies. Defensively, two goalies have seen action with Ashley Herrick seeing nearly all the minutes and saving 40.4 percent of the shots she faces.

QUICK REVIEW • DELAWARE STATE: Behind a balanced scoring attack that saw seven different players score at least one goal, Eastern secured its first program win, March 7, as the Eagles claimed a 12-7 victory over visiting Delaware State at Scicluna Field. The Eagles (1-2) used a seven-goal run early in the game to build an 8-1 lead before holding off a late charge from the Hornets (2-3) for the win.
     The Eagles claimed their first lead in program history as Avery Schwab opened the scoring just over 90 seconds into the game before the Hornets tied things up at 1-1 with 11:13 remaining in the first. From there, the Eagle offense went on a big run as Eastern scored the next seven goals in a row to take an 8-1 advantage midway through the second. Skylar Hilmer opened and closed the run as she tallied her first of the day at 9:37 in the first quarter before adding her second with 8:41 remaining in the half. Hilmer, who's second goal stands as the game-winner for the Eagles, was joined in the scoring streak with two more goals from Schwab, who scored back-to-back goals to record the first hat trick in program history, and single scores from Abby Alderman, Tracy Grollman, and Gina Jaffurs each scored once.
     After taking an 8-2 lead into halftime, the Eagles surrendered three goals to the Hornets before Hilmer netted her third goal with 1:53 remaining in the third quarter, sending the game to its final quarter of play with a 9-5 lead. The goal from Hilmer made her the second Eagle to record a hat trick in the game and in program history.
     The Hornets struck early in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to three (9-6), but Eastern answered right back as Mackenzie Blackwell scored 25 seconds later on an assist from Kyleigh Dill, who recorded her first collegiate point, to start a three-goal run that put the game away. On the run, Blackwell's goal was followed by Sydney Lawrence adding her name to the ledger before Blackwell ended the scoring for Eastern with her second of the day. The Hornets added one more score with 4:38 remaining in the game to close the scoring and were thwarted on a pair of attempts after with Giuliana Ditsky shutting the door with two more of her single-game-tying record 10 saves.

THAT WINNING FEELING: For the first time in program history, the Eagles were victorious as Eastern used a seven-goal run to build an 8-1 lead that turned into a 12-7 win over visiting Delaware State, March 7. Seven different players scored for the Eagles on the day as all three first year programs have found the win column early in their inaugural seasons (Eastern is 1-2, Xavier is 3-3, and Clemson is 6-2).

HATS OFF TO AVERY: It was quite a first quarter of play for Avery Schwab against Delaware State, March 7, as the rookie recorded the program's first hat trick as she notched all three of her goals within the first 8:31 of the game. Schwab scored at 13:29 to give Eastern an early 1-0 lead before her goals at 7:02 and 6:29 built the Eagles' lead to 4-1 and 5-1, respectively.

SPEEDY SCHWAB: Not only did Avery Schwab tally the first hat trick in program history, she also recorded the fastest back-to-back goals by the same player for Eastern. Schwab's second goal came with 7:02 remaining in the first quarter before her third and final goal found the net just 33 seconds later at 6:29.

THAT WAS QUICK: While Schaw's back-to-back goals were quick, they were not as fast as her teammates against the Hornets, March 7. With the game tied, 1-1, Skylar Hilmer scored her first of the game with 9:37 remaining in the first quarter. A mere 19 seconds later, at 9:18, Mackenzie Blackwell fed a pass to Abby Alderman, who scored with 9:18 remaining in the opening stanza to make it a 3-1 game.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: While no green hats were needed, the Eagles went streaking during their game with Delaware State, March 7, as Eastern scored seven goals in a row, its longest scoring streak in its early existence. Prior to the game, th Eagles had scored two in a row three times. Against the Hornets, Skylar Hilmer goals book-ended the streak as she scored at 9:37 in the first and at 8:41 in the second. Between her goals, Avery Schwab added two goals while Abby Alderman, Tracy Grollman, and GIna Jaffurs each scored once.

HERE'S THE SCOOP: Entering the game with Delaware State, March 7, the Eagles recorded 25 total ground balls in two games with a high of 18 at Winthrop, March 3. Against the Hornets, the Eagles collected 31 ground balls, which stands as the third-highest total in a single game in the NCAA this year. The only other teams to record more are MAC rival Kent State, who recorded 33 against Delaware State, March 8, and UMass Lowell, who tallied 32, Feb. 15. As a team, Eastern ranks 18th in the nation and second in the MAC with 18.67 ground balls per game.

CAUSING PROBLEMS: The Eagles currently lead the MAC as they are averaging 9.67 caused turnovers per game, a number that also ranks 28th in the nation. Sydney Lawrence leads the way as she is tied for the league lead with 2.00 caused turnovers per game, which also ranks 18th nationally, while GIna Jaffurs stands third in the MAC and 48th in the NCAA with her 1.67 per game average.

UP NEXT: Eastern returns to the road Sunday, March 19, with a trip down the street to Ann Arbor for a 1 p.m. contest with the University of Michigan.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Abby Alderman

Mackenzie Blackwell

Kyleigh Dill

Giuliana Ditsky

Tracy Grollman

Skylar Hilmer

Gina Jaffurs

Sydney Lawrence

Avery Schwab

Eastern Michigan Athletics