Soccer Opens 2023 Season Thursday at Home

Match #1 - ST. BONAVENTURE
Date	Thursday, Aug. 17 - 4 p.m.
Venue	Scicluna Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

Match #2 - OAKLAND
Date	Sunday, Oct. 23 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Scicluna Field (Parking Directions)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer program is set to lift the lid on its 29th varsity campaign this week with a pair of games to be played in southeast Michigan, including the season-opener with visiting St. Bonaventure University Thursday, Aug. 17, in a 4 p.m. kick at Scicluna Field. The second game of the first week of the season comes Sunday, Aug. 20, with a 3 p.m. kick in Rochester, Mich., as the Eagles face Oakland University.

QUICK KICKS:
» Eastern Michigan is opening its 29th varsity season and sports a 248-234-64 overall record and stands 142-109-32 in Mid-American Conference play. With two victories this year, the Eagles will record the 250th win in program history.
» Head Coach Scott Hall is currently in his 25th season at the helm of the program and holds an all-time record of 209-203-61 (131-105-30 MAC) during his time in Ypsilanti.
» Scott Hall is in elite company as the Eagles' gaffer is one of just 44 active head coaches embarking on their 25th or higher season with an NCAA Division I women's program in 2023, one of only 13 of which has done so at the same school. Hall will also become the sixth head coach of any sport in EMU history to guide the same program for 25 or more years.
» The Eagles were tabbed to finish ninth in the 2023 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll that was released Aug. 15, earning 35 points in the voting. Buffalo, Western Michigan, and Ball State received the top three vote totals.
» Eastern has one opponent on its schedule that is ranked in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Top 25 with Michigan State (Aug. 31 in East Lansing) coming in at No. 17.
» The Eagles are 12-8-8 in the first match of the season after playing visiting Western Illinois to a 2-2 draw last year. Eastern will open the season at home for the fifth year in a row and will look to better its record in those matches after going 1-1-2 in the previous four. Overall, EMU is 6-4-5 when its season-opening match is also its first match of the year at home.
» Eastern is 13-9-6 in its home opener and holds a stellar record of 5-1-4 in last 10 home-openers with a 4-0 setback to visiting Illinois State (Aug. 19, 2021) the only blemish in that time.
» When Eastern heads to Oakland Sunday, it will look to better its 11-12-5 mark in its first road contest of the season. The Eagles won their road opener last year with a 4-0 victory at Illinois State (Aug. 21, 2022), and are 3-3-0 in their last six road-opening games.
» In the regular season, the Eagles will play four Michigan teams, marking the 123rd, 124th, 125th, and 126th all-time games played against intrastate foes. Eastern, which enters the year with a 51-51-20 record against Mitten State schools, will face Oakland (Aug. 20), Michigan State (Aug. 31), and Central Michigan (Sept. 21) on the road before hosting Western Michigan (Oct. 15).
» The Eagle roster is 30 players deep for 2023 with 21 returning players and nine newcomers. In fact, the youth movement continues as Tiffanie Hollingsworth and Rebecca Przybylo are lone seniors on the squad. The roster features 11 freshmen (three of which are redshirts), nine sophomores, and eight juniors.
» In 2022, the Eagles tallied 65 points on 23 goals and 19 assists. Nearly all of that production returns for the 2023 season, including 91.3 percent of the goals (21-of-23), 89.5 percent of the assists (17-of-19), and 90.8 percent of the points (59-of-65).

LOOKING BACK: Eastern finished the 2022 season with a 3-11-4 record and posted a 2-7-2 record in MAC play, scoring eight points to finish tied for ninth in the league standings. The Eagles posted all three wins on the road, including victories of 4-0 at Illinois State (Aug. 21), 3-2 at Akron (Sept. 29), and 2-1 at Western Michigan (Oct. 16).

HALL OF TIME: The 2023 season will mark the 25th Scott Hall has served as the head coach of the Eastern program. A former student-athlete at EMU (1990-94) and a four-year assistant coach (1995-98), Hall has been part of all 546 matches the Eagles have played in its existence, including 472 as the head coach. Sporting a record of 209-203-61, Hall, the longest tenured coach in MAC women's soccer history, has guided the Eagles to 15 MAC Tournament appearances with one tournament title secured in three championship match appearances. Winners of three MAC regular season crowns (1999, 2003, and 2013), the three-time MAC Coach of the Year also helped the Eagles reach the 1999 NCAA Tournament, the first national tournament appearance in program history.

RARE AIR: Scott Hall enters the 2023 campaign as one of 44 head coaches in NCAA Division I women's soccer to lead a team for 25 or more seasons. More impressive is of those 44, Hall and 12 others have accomplished the feat with the same program. Additionally, on an institutional level, Hall is the sixth head coach in EMU history to guide the same program for 25 or more years.

PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS: The MAC announced its 2023 preseason coaches poll Aug. 15 with the Eagles earning 35 votes to sit ninth in the standings. Buffalo was tabbed first with 112 points and seven first-place votes with Western Michigan (104 points/three first-place votes), Ball State (100/1), Bowling Green (98/0), Miami (86/1), and Kent State (67/0) earning placements in the top six, which is cut off for the number of teams to make the 2023 MAC Tournament at the end of the season. Buffalo (six) and Ball State (two) each received multiple votes to win the MAC Tournament with single votes received by Bowling Green, Miami, Ohio, and Western Michigan.

LET'S GET IT STARTED: Eastern sports a record of 12-8-8 all-time in its first match of the season after tying Western Illinois last year, Aug. 18, at home, 2-2. The Eagles will open the season at home for the fifth year in a row and will look to better its record in those matches after going 1-1-2 in the previous four. Overall, EMU is 6-4-5 when its season-opening match is also its first match of the year at home.

START ME UP: Eastern is 13-9-6 in its home opener and holds a stellar record of 5-1-4 in last 10 home-openers with a 4-0 setback to visiting Illinois State (Aug. 19, 2021) the only blemish in that time. With last year's 2-2 draw with Western Illinois, Aug. 18, 2022, the Eagles have scored at least two goals in their opener in four of their last five.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Although not too far away, the Eagles will also play their first road game of the season this weekend with a trip into Rochester to face Oakland (Sunday, 3 p.m.) Eastern will look to better its 11-12-5 mark in its first road contest of the season and try for two in a row after the Eagles won their road opener last year with a 4-0 victory at Illinois State (Aug. 21, 2022). From there, however, Eastern will remain on the road as its next five matches following the clash with Oakland will also come on the road.

TWO MORE: Eastern sports an all-time record of 248-234-64, leaving the Eagles just two wins shy of reaching the 250-victory milestone. The last time the Eagles recorded a milestone victory came Sept. 21, 2018, when their 2-0 home win over Kent State marked the 225th program win.

SCOUTING ST. BONAVENTURE: The Bonnies, under the direction of new head coach Donny George, posted a 3-8-6 record last year, including a 1-8-1 record in the A-10. SBU returns all but one of its goal scorers from last year, including top-scorer Ami Komori, who tallied three goals and two assists for eight points. Defensively, however, the Bonnies will need to replace Chiara Gottinger, who started and played in 17 matches in 2022 in goal.

IN THE SERIES WITH THE BONNIES: Eastern and St. Bonaventure are meeting for just the third time with the previous two games being played over the last two seasons. The Bonnies hold a 1-0-1 record in the series after winning last year, 3-1, in St. Bonaventure, N.Y., after the two sides played to a 1-1 draw in Ypsilanti in 2021.

SCOUTING OAKLAND: The Golden Grizzlies complied an 8-4-7 record in 2022 with a 5-2-3 mark in the Horizon League, which placed them third in the conference standings. Head Coach Juan Pablo Favero, who is entering his seventh season at Oakland, lost his top three point-scorers from last year's team, leaving Jayna Fraser as the top returning scorer with six points on two goals and two assists. Defensively, the team will look to replace their top keeper from the 2022 season in Noemi Staedlmann, who started 18 matches and allowed just nine goals in total.

IN THE SERIES WITH THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES: Oakland holds the lead in the all-time series with an 8-3-2 record despite Eastern winning two of the last three contests and holding a 2-0-2 record in the last four. The Golden Grizzlies lead, 4-1-2, when the series is played in Rochester with the Eagles taking a 1-0 victory the last time OU hosted, Sept. 2, 2018. Overall, of the 13 matches played, more than seven have ended in a shutout as seven clean sheets have been kept in total.

MATCHES IN THE MITTEN: This season, the Eagles are slated to play four matches against fellow Michigan schools, including road contests with Oakland (Aug. 20), Michigan State (Aug. 31), and Central Michigan (Sept. 21) and a home meeting with Western Michigan (Oct. 15). In the previous 28 seasons the Eagles have played 122 intrastate matches and hold an even record at 51-51-20.

EXHIBITION RESULT: The Eagles played one exhibition match in the preseason, scoring a 5-0 victory over visiting Detroit Mercy Thursday, Aug. 10, at Scicluna Field. After a scoreless first half, Eastern came out and tallied five goals in the final 45 minutes with freshman Maddi Cowburn finding the back of the net in the 56' for the winning score. Fellow rookies Kate Robinson and Olivia Sipsock added their names to the scoring ledger with Robinson netting a brace with goals in the 68' and 78' and Sipsock opening her account with a score in the 71'. Meagan Lukoswki, who assisted on the opening goal, scored the final goal of the match with her strike in the 88'. Cowburn added an assist while Cameryn Susey helped on two. Defensively, Ella Holland and Rebecca Przybylo combined to keep a clean sheet, turning away all four shots faced in goal.

PLENTIFUL POINTS: Last year, the Eagles tallied 65 points on 23 goals and 19 assists with nine different players scoring at least one goal and 13 Eagles with at least one point. Heading into 2023, only five points, two goals, and one assist are not returning as the remaining 90.8 percent of points (59-of-65), 91.3 percent of goals scored (21-of-23), and 89.5 percent of assists delivered (17-of-19) are back on the pitch in 2023. The top five scorers return for the Eagles as well, including juniors Maddie O'Farrell, who tallied 15 points on six goals and three assists, and Meagan Lukowski, who netted 10 points on four goals and two assists, and sophomore Hannah Thompson, who equaled Lukowski's numbers.

WELCOME BACK: The Eagles feature 21 returning players for the 2023 season, including two seniors, eight juniors, nine sophomores, and two redshirt freshmen.

HONORED: Last year, in a vote of the conference coaches, two Eagles garnered postseason accolades from the MAC with Maddie O'Farrell being named All-MAC Second Team and Hannah Thompson voted to the MAC All-Freshman team. Both players return this season with O'Farrell being the team's top scorer from last year with 15 points on six goals and three assists and Thompson ranking tied for second with 10 points on four goals and two helpers.

HELLO! MY NAME IS: Eastern has welcomed nine newcomers to the fold, including eight freshmen and one transfer redshirt freshman. The rookies, who are heading into their first collegiate seasons following stellar high school careers, include: Maddie Cowburn, Josie Langhans, Catie Riddle, Kate Robinson, Olivia Sipsock, Cameryn Susey, Rosalie Takacsy, and Sarah Van Euwen. The remaining newcomer is Ella Holland, who redshirted her freshman campaign last year with Samford.

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

UP NEXT: A two-match road trip through the northeast awaits the Eagles next week as Eastern is set to face both Dartmouth and Northeastern away from home. The trip begins Friday, Aug. 25, with a 5 p.m. match with the Big Green in Hanover, N.H., before closing in Boston, Mass., with a 1 p.m. contest with the Huskies.

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Players Mentioned

Maddi Cowburn

Ella Holland

Tiffanie Hollingsworth

Josie Langhans

Meagan Lukowski

Maddie O'Farrell

Rebecca Przybylo

Catie Riddle

Kate Robinson

Olivia Sipsock

Cameryn Susey

Rosalie Takacsy

Hannah Thompson

Sarah Van Euwen

Eastern Michigan Athletics