Lacrosse Hits the Road to Face Youngstown State Saturday

Lacrosse at Youngstown State
Date	Saturday, April 8 \| 1 p.m.
Venue	Farmers National Bank Field \| Youngstown, Ohio
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Game Program
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Live stream	YouTube
Social Media	Instagram: @emu_Lacrosse \| Twitter: @EMU_Lacrosse

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohoi (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team is prepared to face Youngstown State University, Saturday, April 8, at 1 p.m. on Farmers National Bank Field. The Eagles (1-9, 0-2 MAC) are coming off a tough battle with the defending MAC champions, Central Michigan, dropping the contest, 17-11 while the Penguins (3-8, 1-1 MAC) picked up their first conference victory of the season, an 18-7 domination over the University of Akron, April 5.

OPENING DRAWS:
» The Eagles saw five of their goals against the Chippewas, April 5, come off free-position attempts, which tied for the second most after the team produced six at Butler, March 26.
» The 25 ground balls recorded against CMU, April 5, are the team's second most in a single game and rank as the sixth most by a MAC member this year.
» Five different Eagles assisted on a goal in the setback, April 5. The five players mark a program-high, topping the four that recorded at least one assist against Butler, March 26.
» Mackenzie Blackwell scored a program record six goals against the Chippewas, topping her career-high four goals set on two occasions.
» With her six goals, Mackenzie Blackwell recorded her fourth hat trick of the season and third consecutive. She closed out the game with the final two goals, which came 22 seconds apart, making it the fastest a single player has scored back-to-back goals in program history.
» Mackenzie Blackwell registered the program's first home draw control against a MAC opponent en route to her six total on the day.
» Gina Jaffurs secured the first home goal against a MAC member in school history as well as the first home goal against a MAC foe off a free-position. With her goal, Jaffurs also collected the program's first home point against a MAC member.
» Tracy Grollman earned the first woman-up home goal against a MAC member in program history with her equalizer in the second quarter.

QUICK REVIEW • CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Eagles surrendered three goals in the first quarter before opening up the gates in the second as Gina Jaffurs found the back of the net on a free-position attempt for her fourth goal of the season. From there, EMU allowed another Chippewa goal before Mackenzie Blackwell responded with her first make of the day with help from Amber Alderman to put the score, 4-2, in favor of CMU. The Eagles connected on two back-to-back shots from both Blackwell and Tracy Grollman to even the score with 8:41 left in the half. Almost four minutes later, Sydney Lawrence gave the Eagles the advantage for the first time in the game as she drilled one home off a free-position attempt.
In the third quarter, CMU regained the lead before Lawrence neutralized the score with an unassisted goal, her 16th of the season. With the Eagles up by one, the Chippewas acted quickly as the visitors nailed in two more to finish the quarter ahead of EMU, 8-6. 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 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.

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: The Penguins of Youngstown State enter the weekend with a 3-8 record and stand 1-1 in league play after defeating Akron, 18-7, April 5. YSU has played three games against common opponents for the Eagles, including a 19-18 victory over Butler to open the season, Feb. 12, an 18-11 setback to Marquette, Feb. 17, and an 18-11 loss to Niagara, March 2. Offensively, Natalie Calandra-Ryan leads the way for the Penguins with a team-high 35 goals and 48 points while both Calandra-Ryan and Erin Clark tie with a team-high 13 assists each. Defensively, two goalies have seen action with Mikaela Staranko starting all 11 games. She has saved 92 shots and allowed 136 goals for a 40.4 save percentage and a 16.61 goals-against average.

VIEWS FROM THE SIX: Mackenzie Blackwell scored a program record six goals against the Chippewas, April 5, topping her career-high four goals set on two occasions (at Xavier, March 12, and at Butler, March 26). Her goal total bettered the previous record of five scored by Sydney Lawrence earlier this year at Butler. Additionally, the six goals tie for the fourth most in a single game within the MAC this season. Blackwell remains the Eagles' top scorer with 24 total.

BLACKWELL'S HAT COLLECTION: With her six goals, Mackenzie Blackwell recorded her fourth hat trick of the season and third consecutive after doing so against Butler, March 26, and Detroit Mercy, April 1. The freshman now has double the amount of hat tricks than the next Eagle, which is Sydney Lawrence with two.

GET HER A MARKER, SHE'S DRAWING: Mackenzie Blackwell registered the program's first home draw control against a MAC opponent en route to her six total against CMU, April 5. It marked her seventh game recording five or more draw controls and her fifth consecutive accomplishing the feat. Her 4.60 average per game ranks her third in the MAC.

SPEEDY MACK: Mackenzie Blackwell's last two goals in the game against Central, April 5, came 22 seconds apart, making it the fastest a single player has scored back-to-back goals in program history. Prior to the contest, teammate Avery Schwab held the title as she netted two just 33 seconds apart against Delaware State, March 7.

BUNCH OF FIRSTS: Gina Jaffurs secured the Eagles' first goal of the game versus CMU, April 5, off a free-position attempt early in the second quarter, making it the first home goal against a MAC member in school history as well as the first home goal against a MAC foe off a free-position. With her goal, Jaffurs also collected the program's first home point against a MAC member.

CONSISTENCY SHINES: Tracy Grollman earned the first woman-up home goal against a MAC member in program history with her equalizer in the second quarter of the setback to Central, April 5. Additionally, Grollman has recorded at least one goal in eight of the ten contests played this season. The only other members of the team to record the same feat are both Mackenzie Blackwell and Sydney Lawrence with eight games each.

SAVING THE DAY: Giuliana Ditsky recorded a program and career-high-tying 12 saves against the Chippewas' offense with her first of the day coming at the 9:12 mark of the first quarter going down as the program's first home save against a MAC opponent.

LAWFUL RECORD HOLDER: Sydney Lawrence was impressive on the defensive end scooping the program's first-ever home ground ball against a MAC team en route to her five total over the Chippewas, April 5, which ties the EMU record and career-high when she tallied five against Kennesaw State, Feb. 20, 2022, when she was an Oregon Duck. Additionally, Lawrence also notched the program's first-ever caused turnover in a home MAC game as she finished with three on the day tying the EMU record with herself and Gina Jaffurs.

FOLLOWING THE LAW(RENCE): Sydney Lawrence is averaging 1.78 caused turnovers per game. That number leads the MAC and ranks 35th nationally. Additionally, her 0.67 free-position goals per game ranks second in the league.

NEXT BEST: The EMU lacrosse team currently holds the No. 2 position in the MAC rankings in three different statistical categories. With a 46.7 free-position percentage, the Green and White rank second in the league and 36th nationally. Its 7.67 caused turnovers per game average and 50.2 draw control percentage also rank second in the MAC, and 64th and 36th in the nation, respectively.

UP NEXT: Following the weekend match up with Youngstown, the Eagles will return home for a meeting with Kent State University, Wednesday, April 12. The contest is slated to take place on Scicluna Field with a 2 p.m. first draw.

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Players Mentioned

Amber Alderman

Mackenzie Blackwell

Giuliana Ditsky

Tracy Grollman

Gina Jaffurs

Sydney Lawrence

Avery Schwab

Eastern Michigan Athletics