Lacrosse Hits the Road to Face Central Michigan Under the Lights

Lacrosse at Central Michigan
Date	Wednesday, April 26 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex \| Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Live Video	Chippewas All-Access
Social Media	Instagram: @emu_Lacrosse \| Twitter: @EMU_Lacrosse

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse program prepares to face the Mid-American Conference defending champions, the Chippewas, Wednesday, April 26, for the second meeting this season, this time in the Central Michigan University Soccer and Lacrosse Complex in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The Eagles (1-13, 0-6 MAC) will look for its first conference victory in program history while the Chips (7-7, 5-1 MAC) are fighting for the No. 1 seed after dropping a close 17-15 contest at Kent State University, April 22 that tied the standings with CMU, KSU, and Robert Morris University, who all stand 5-1 in league games.
    Wednesday's contest will see the Eagles soar under the lights in their penultimate game for the first time in program history with a 7 p.m. start. Fans can view the action live through the Chippewas livestream at CMUChippewas.com, while also following along with the live stats at EMUEagles.com/LiveStats.

OPENING DRAWS:
» As a team, the Eagles caused 22 turnovers against Akron, April 22, which ranks as the most in a single game in program history. The total also ranks as the most in a MAC game for the Eagles.
» The team's 31 ground balls in the contest versus the Zips mark as the fifth game in which the Green and White have collected 20 or more ground balls. It also marked the second-highest total this season.
» Avery Schwab recorded assists on two goals in the setback to Akron to become the first Eagle to record multiple helpers in a home game in program history.
» With their goals over the Zips, Mackenzie Blackwell and Sydney Lawrence extended their point-scoring streak to a program-record eight games in a row.
» With her three goals in Saturday's contest, Mackenzie Blackwell has recorded a hat trick in six games this season, the most of any Eagle.
» With their points against Akron, Mackenzie Blackwell, Tracy Grollman, and Sydney Lawrence have each recorded at least one point in 12 of the team's 14 games played this year.
» Four EMU members of the lacrosse program have previous ties with CMU in Head Coach Sara Tisdale, Assistant Coaches Allison Lane and Tayra Prince, and fifth-year student-athlete Julie Lindsey.

QUICK REVIEW • AKRON: EMU built a 4-1 lead through the first quarter of play, but was unable to hold on for the victory as the visiting Zips scored a 10-9 MAC win, their first of the year, Saturday, April 22, on a rainy day at Scicluna Field. The Eagles saw four players score multiple goals on the day while seven different players scored for the Zips. EMU jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first quarter as Mackenzie Blackwell continued her scoring streak with two in the first 15 minutes of play. Akron then cut into the Eagles' lead in the second, equalizing the score at four before Skylar Hilmer sent a shot flying into the back of the net to take back the lead with just seven seconds left on the clock. The Eagles headed into halftime with a 5-4 advantage over the Zips.
    The third quarter was more of a defensive battle as both teams fought through the rain to score two goals each and head into the final stanza tied with seven apiece. The Zips earned their first advantage over the Eagles in the fourth quarter with a shot at the 12:20 mark to go up 8-7 before Sydney Lawrence knotted things up once more with 8:15 left on the clock. In the final minutes, the Eagles surrendered two more, making only one more themselves to ultimately fall, 10-9.

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Chippewas enter the week with a 7-7 record and stand as one of three conference members fighting for the top spot with a 5-1 MAC record with Kent State and Robert Morris after falling to Kent State, 17-15, April 22. Outside of other MAC foes, CMU has played just two games against common opponents for the Eagles, including a 17-9 loss to Marquette, and the 13-8 victory over UDM. Offensively, Maggie Diebold leads the way for the Chippewas with a team-high 41 goals and 49 points while Audrey Whiteside carries a team-high 16 assists. Defensively, three goalies have seen action with Alexa Martel starting ten games. She has saved 123 shots and allowed 134 goals for a 47.9 save percentage and a 11.34 goals-against average.

IN THE SERIES • CMU: The Eagles trail the Chippewas, 1-0, in the all-time series after falling in a 17-11 setback inside the Indoor Practice Facility in Ypsilanti, Mich., April 5. The game, which was the inaugural home MAC contest for the lacrosse program, saw Mackenzie Blackwell lead with a program record six goals on eight shots and won six draw controls for the Green and White. A hard-fought battle in the fourth saw a total of 14 goals scored between the two schools with Blackwell accounting for four of them herself. The period began with the Chippewas extending their lead by two before Blackwell connected on a dime from Sydney Lawrence to give the Eagles their seventh notch of the game. From there, the shooting range was open for both the Michigan-based teams with the Chippewas coming away with a 17-11 victory over the Eagles.

KEEPING THE STREAK: With their goals, Mackenzie Blackwell and Sydney Lawrence extended their point-scoring streak to program-record eight games in a row. Blackwell has scored at least two goals in each of those eight games for 26 total goals over that span and continues to lead the team with 35 goals overall. The closest Eagle to Blackwell's mark is Lawrence, who has recorded 26 so far this season.
    Additionally, with their points against Akron, Blackwell, Tracy Grollman, and Lawrence have each recorded at least one point in 12 of the team's 14 games played this year.

THE "MACK" HATTER: With her three goals against Akron, April 22, Mackenzie Blackwell has recorded a hat trick in six games this season, the most of any Eagle. She currently averages 2.5 goals a game which ranks her fourth in the league and top-100 in the nation. Of the top-100, only six are freshmen with Blackwell being the only freshman from the MAC.

BIG TIME HELPER: Avery Schwab recorded assists on two goals in the setback to Akron, April 22 to become the first Eagle to record multiple helpers in a home game in program history. Schwab now has 10 assists on the year, which ranks second on the team to Sydney Lawrence, who has 11.
    As a team, the Eagles rank sixth in the league with 3.57 assists per game.

SYD ZIPPING UP THE ZIPS: Along with the three points on two goals and one assist against the Zips, April 22, Sydney Lawrence also recorded four caused turnovers, breaking her own record of three that she recorded twice earlier this year along with two of her teammates. Lawrence also added a team-high five ground balls, which ranks second in a single game at EMU.

CAUSING HAVOC: As a team, the Eagles caused 22 Akron turnovers, April 22, which ranks as the most in a single game in program history, surpassing the 18 recorded at home against Delaware State, March 7. The total also ranks as the most in a MAC game for the Eagles after previously recording 11 at home against Kent State, April 12. The team leads the MAC with a caused turnovers per game average of 8.64, good for 37th in the nation.

SCOOP-EM UP: The team's 31 ground balls in the contest, April 22 mark the fifth game in which the Green and White have collected 20 or more ground balls. It also marks the second-highest total this season following the 35 against Kent State, April 12.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Both Sydney Lawrence and Mackenzie Blackwell lead the league in their respective statistical categories with Lawrence's 1.93 caused turnovers per game ranking 25th nationally, while Blackwell's 5.00 draw controls per game rank 42nd in the nation.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE RANKINGS: The EMU lacrosse team currently leads the league in caused turnovers per game, ranking 37th in the nation with a 8.64. Furthermore, the team holds the No. 2 position in the MAC rankings in two other statistical categories. With a 43.2 free-position percentage, the Green and White rank second in the league and 64th nationally. Its 18.36 ground balls per game ranks second in the MAC, and 13th in the nation.

UP NEXT: The EMU lacrosse team will wrap up its inaugural season with one more meeting against the Titans of the University of Detroit Mercy, Saturday, April 29, with a 4:30 p.m. start time at Scicluna Field. The team will honor one senior, Julie Lindsey as the game is deemed "Senior Day" and will begin the festivities directly after the conclusion of the game.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Lacrosse Hits the Road to Face Central Michigan Under the Lights

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Mackenzie Blackwell

Tracy Grollman

Skylar Hilmer

Sydney Lawrence

Julie Lindsey

Avery Schwab

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