Eagles Head to Pittsburgh to Face Duquesne

Lacrosse at Duquesne
Date	Thursday, Feb. 15 \| 3 p.m.
Venue	Rooney Field \| Pittsburgh, Pa.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF)
Live	Statistics \| Watch (ESPN+ link coming soon)
Social Media	Instagram: @emu_Lacrosse \| Twitter: @EMU_Lacrosse

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team returns to the road this week as the Eagles will venture to Pittsburgh, Pa., to take on Duquesne University, Thursday, Feb. 15. The game between the Eagles (0-1) and Dukes (0-1) is slated for a 3 p.m. opening draw at Rooney Field and be streamed live on ESPN+.

OPENING DRAWS
» Eastern enters the week with a 0-1 record following a 21-6 loss at No. 7 Notre Dame, Feb. 9.
» With the loss at Notre Dame, the Eagles are now 0-9 all-time on the road. Eastern is in the midst of five consecutive road games to open the 2024 season, its second as a varsity program.
» Kelsea Dague made her collegiate debut against the Fighting Irish after an injury forced her out of the 2023 season. In her first action, Dague started for the Eagles and led the way with four points on two goals and two assists while firing nine shots, seven of which were on target.
» Five Eagles made their collegiate debuts at Notre Dame, including redshirt freshman Kelsea Dague and "true" freshmen Maddie Porter, Karly Low, Roya Khaleeli, and Kendall Nagle. Additionally, graduate transfer Addie Pastor started after playing four years at Albion.
» Five Eagles were selected captains ahead of the 2024 season, including sophomores Mackenzie Blackwell, Skylar Hilmer, Gina Jaffurs, and Annika Wozney, and graduate student Sydney Lawrence.
» Head Coach Sara Tisdale is back for her second year building the Eagle program and carries a career record of 107-78 in 12 years of coaching. Eastern is the third program she has started from scratch after starting programs at Augustana (Ill.) in 2012 and Central Michigan in 2016.
» Eastern was voted fourth in the 2024 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, up from a tie for sixth in 2023.

SCOUTING: DUQUESNE
The Dukes enter the week with a 0-1 record after falling at Pittsburgh, 20-2, Feb. 9, in their season-opener. Duquesne, who is set to play four consecutive home games, all of which will come against teams in the MAC (Eastern Michigan; Youngstown State, Feb. 22; Detroit Mercy, Feb. 24; and Akron, Feb. 27), was led in its opener with goals from Emma Raines and Corinne Webb. Two players split time in goal with Rachel O'Toole earning the start before Megan LaBorne replaced her. Last year, the Dukes posted a 2-14 record with two losses decided by one goal.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. DUKES
The game between Eastern and Duquesne will mark the first in the series. The game will be the second against a member of the Atlantic-10 Conference as the Eagles fell to St. Bonaventure at home last year, 14-8.

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS...
The 2024 season sees the Eagles open with five consecutive road games, which will give the team early chances for the first road victory in program history. Eastern is currently 0-9 all-time away from home after going 0-8 in 2023 and falling at No. 7 Notre Dame in the opening game of 2024.

LOOKING BACK: OPENING NIGHT
Eastern opened its 2024 season on the road, Feb. 9, and fell to No. 7 Notre Dame, 21-6. Kelsea Dague led the way with four points on two goals and two assists while 2023 MAC Freshman of the Year Mackenzie Blackwell added a pair of goals. Amber Alderman and Tracy Grollman added the remaining two scores for the Eagles.

MAKING THEIR DEBUTS
Six Eagles made their debuts at Notre Dame last week, including five freshmen and one graduate student. Kelsea Dague, after sitting out the 2023 season with an injury, earned a start in her collegiate debut while four "true" freshmen saw the field, including starters Karly Low and Maddie Porter along with substitutes Roya Khaleeli and Kendall Nagle. Additionally, Addie Pastor, who started all 53 games she played at Albion, earned a start in her graduate student debut.

ALL DAGUE LONG
After waiting one year to play following an injury ahead of the 2023 season, Kelsea Dague made the most of her debut as she tallied four points on two goals and two assists while adding nine shots (seven on goal), collecting two ground balls, and causing one turnover. All told, her two assists tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history while her points tied for ninth, her nine shots tied for fifth, and her seven shots on goals tied for third.

ON THE LIST
Through opening weekend, Kelsea Dague finds her name among the top players in the MAC as she ranks among the top 10 in six categories, including leading the league with 4.00 points per game. She also ranks second in both shots per game with 9.00 and assists per game with 2.00, while ranking among the top 50 nationally in both at 12th and 32nd, respectively. Dague also stands fifth in goals per game (2.00) and ninth in both ground balls (2.00) and caused turnovers per game (1.00).

MADDIE IN THE MAC
Freshman goalie Maddie Porter also ranks highly in several categories in the MAC, including leading the way with 4.00 ground balls per game, an average that also ranks 13th nationally. In the cage, Porter ranks fourth in saves per game (9.00), seventh in save percentage (.333), and 10th in goals against average (24.00). Overall, she posted a pair of marks that ranked tied for ninth in EMU single-game history, including her four ground balls and nine saves.

GOOD GO GIGI
Giuliana Ditsky played the final quarter at Notre Dame, Feb. 9, and added her name to the MAC top 10 lists as well. Following the weekend, she ranks first in goals against average (12.00), sixth in save percentage (.400), and 10th in saves per game (2.00).

TEAM TOPPER
As a team, the Eagles collected 13 ground balls at Notre Dame, Feb. 9, a total that ranks first in the MAC and 43rd nationally. Additionally, EMU turned the ball over 13 times, which is the third fewest in the conference and the 30th-fewest nationally.

BLACK(WELL) AT IT
The 2023 MAC Freshman of the Year, Mackenzie Blackwell was up to her old tricks once again as she tallied several statistics against the Fighting Irish, Feb. 9. Blackwell picked up two ground balls, two draw controls, and one caused turnover, all of which tie for 10th in the MAC standings. She also scored twice, which ranks sixth in the league, and now needs nine more goals to reach 50 for her career.

HAPPY HELPER
Tracy Grollman joined Kelsea Dague as the only two Eagles to post at least one goal and one assist against the Fighting Irish, Feb. 9. Grollman's 1.00 assists per game currently rank her ninth in the MAC.

ROOKIE ROYA REELING
In her collegiate debut, Roya Khaleeli made a statement as the rookie collected a team-high four draw controls at Notre Dame, Feb. 9. Those controls rank third in the MAC through the first weekend.

HIGH MARKS
Following the 2023 season, the IWLCA announced its Academic Merit Squads, which are comprised of the three teams with the highest cumulative grade-point average in each of the NCAA divisions. With a 3.723 GPA last year, the Eagles ranked second in NCAA Division I with only Harvard ahead of Eastern with a GPA of 3.781. Jacksonville was the third team honored with a 3.720 GPA.

ON THE HORIZON
An East Coast double dip awaits the Eagles as they are set to play at both Howard University and Delaware State University next week. EMU will first travel to Washington, D.C., for a noon opening draw with the Bison, Feb. 25. The road trip closes Feb. 28 with a noon opening draw in Dover, Del., against the Hornets.

FOLLOW US
For all things EMU Lacrosse, be sure to check out the team's social media accounts, including EMU_Lacrosse on X (formerly Twitter) and EMU_Lacrosse on Instagram.

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Players Mentioned

Amber Alderman

Mackenzie Blackwell

Kelsea Dague

Giuliana Ditsky

Tracy Grollman

Skylar Hilmer

Gina Jaffurs

Roya Khaleeli

Sydney Lawrence

Karly Low

Kendall Nagle

Addie Pastor

Maddy Porter

Annika Wozney

Eastern Michigan Athletics