Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, February 9
South Bend, Ind.
7:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
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21
Notre Dame
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EMU
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ND
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Lacrosse Drops Season Opener at #7 Notre Dame
2/9/2024 10:16:00 PM | Lacrosse
Kelsea Dague tallies four points in her debut, including two goals, to pace the Eagles
Box Score (pdf) | Photo Gallery
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team fell to No. 7 Notre Dame, 21-6, Friday, Feb. 9, as the Eagles opened their 2024 season on the road inside the Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Ind. Kelsea Dague (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) made the most of her debut as the redshirt freshman scored twice and added a pair of assists for four points while Mackenzie Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern), the 2023 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, scored twice for the Eagles (0-1) against one of the top teams in the nation in the Fighting Irish (1-0).
How It Happened
The hosts jumped out an early lead before the Eagles were able to respond as Blackwell found the back of the net on the woman advantage, making it 2-1 with 11:44 remaining in the first. From there, the Irish would score five in a row to build a 7-1 advantage before the Eagles would grab their second of the game as Dague scored her first collegiate goal to make it 7-2. But the hosts would go on to add three more to make it 10-2 at the end of the first 15 minutes of play.
In the second quarter, the Fighting Irish scored four more times to make it 14-2 before the Eagles responded with two of their own. After Maddie Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) collected a loose ball ground ball, the rookie keeper sent the ball down the field with Dague taking the ball and feeding Tracy Grollman (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School) on the doorstep where Grollman fired home for her first of the season. Then, with just under one minute remaining, Eastern drove into the Irish zone where Dague was fouled and earned a free-position shot. Dague scored on the free-position attempt for her second of the game to cut into the deficit before the break.
Notre Dame added four more goals in the third stanza while Eastern was held scoreless to bring the game to an 18-4 score. In the fourth, the two teams traded goals with Amber Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) scoring off a pass from Grollman and Blackwell collecting her second of the night off a pass from Dague to bring the final to 21-6.
Game Notes
» Eastern fell 0-1 on the season while the seventh-ranked Fighting Irish moved to 1-0.
» Dague made the most of collegiate debut after an injury kept her out of the 2023 season. The redshirt freshman finished with four points on two goals and two assists. Her point total ranks tied for ninth-most in a single game in EMU history while her two assists tied for fourth, her nine shots tied for fifth, and seven shots on goal tied for third.
» Both of Dague's goals also rank in the top four based on the time each was scored. Her first goal came with two minutes remaining in the first quarter, which stands as the fourth-latest in the opening stanza an EMU goal has been scored. Her second tally came with 38 seconds remaining in the second quarter, which stands as the third-latest scored before halftime.
» Dague was one of five rookies to make their collegiate debuts with four "true" freshmen seeing action. That group included starters Porter in goal and Karly Low (Owen Sound, Ontario/Owen Sound District Secondary) on defense along with Roya Khaleeli (Rancho Palo Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) and Kendall Nagle (Sudlersville, Md./Queen Anne's County).
» A sixth newcomer saw her first action with the Eagles as well as graduate student Addie Pastor (Kalamazoo, Mich./Mattawan/Albion) earned a start on offense, marking her first with the Eagles and the 54th of her career after starting all 53 games she played at Albion.
» Porter played the first three quarters of the game and recorded nine saves in goal, which ties for the ninth-most in a single game in program history. She also led the team with four ground balls, a total that also tied for the ninth-most in a single game.
» Khaleeli had a strong debut as well as the rookie tallied one shot, collected a pair of ground balls, and won four draw controls, the most on the team in the game.
Historical Notes
» Tonight's game was the first between the Eagles and Fighting Irish. It also marked the first ACC foe EMU has faced.
» Eastern is now 0-2 in season-opening games after falling to Niagara, 18-4, in the Eagles' inaugural game, Feb. 16, 2023, at home.
» The six goals scored by the Eagles are the most in a season-opener after being held to four last year against visiting Niagara (18-4).
» The 21 goals surrendered are the most in a game in the program's short history. Last year, the Eagles allowed 19 goals on three occasions with the third time coming at Central Michigan, April 26, 2023 (19-4).
Up Next
The Eagles are back in action on the road next week when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa., to face the Dukes of Duquesne University Thursday, Feb. 15. The opening draw is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPN+.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team fell to No. 7 Notre Dame, 21-6, Friday, Feb. 9, as the Eagles opened their 2024 season on the road inside the Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Ind. Kelsea Dague (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) made the most of her debut as the redshirt freshman scored twice and added a pair of assists for four points while Mackenzie Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern), the 2023 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, scored twice for the Eagles (0-1) against one of the top teams in the nation in the Fighting Irish (1-0).
How It Happened
The hosts jumped out an early lead before the Eagles were able to respond as Blackwell found the back of the net on the woman advantage, making it 2-1 with 11:44 remaining in the first. From there, the Irish would score five in a row to build a 7-1 advantage before the Eagles would grab their second of the game as Dague scored her first collegiate goal to make it 7-2. But the hosts would go on to add three more to make it 10-2 at the end of the first 15 minutes of play.
In the second quarter, the Fighting Irish scored four more times to make it 14-2 before the Eagles responded with two of their own. After Maddie Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) collected a loose ball ground ball, the rookie keeper sent the ball down the field with Dague taking the ball and feeding Tracy Grollman (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School) on the doorstep where Grollman fired home for her first of the season. Then, with just under one minute remaining, Eastern drove into the Irish zone where Dague was fouled and earned a free-position shot. Dague scored on the free-position attempt for her second of the game to cut into the deficit before the break.
Notre Dame added four more goals in the third stanza while Eastern was held scoreless to bring the game to an 18-4 score. In the fourth, the two teams traded goals with Amber Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) scoring off a pass from Grollman and Blackwell collecting her second of the night off a pass from Dague to bring the final to 21-6.
Game Notes
» Eastern fell 0-1 on the season while the seventh-ranked Fighting Irish moved to 1-0.
» Dague made the most of collegiate debut after an injury kept her out of the 2023 season. The redshirt freshman finished with four points on two goals and two assists. Her point total ranks tied for ninth-most in a single game in EMU history while her two assists tied for fourth, her nine shots tied for fifth, and seven shots on goal tied for third.
» Both of Dague's goals also rank in the top four based on the time each was scored. Her first goal came with two minutes remaining in the first quarter, which stands as the fourth-latest in the opening stanza an EMU goal has been scored. Her second tally came with 38 seconds remaining in the second quarter, which stands as the third-latest scored before halftime.
» Dague was one of five rookies to make their collegiate debuts with four "true" freshmen seeing action. That group included starters Porter in goal and Karly Low (Owen Sound, Ontario/Owen Sound District Secondary) on defense along with Roya Khaleeli (Rancho Palo Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) and Kendall Nagle (Sudlersville, Md./Queen Anne's County).
» A sixth newcomer saw her first action with the Eagles as well as graduate student Addie Pastor (Kalamazoo, Mich./Mattawan/Albion) earned a start on offense, marking her first with the Eagles and the 54th of her career after starting all 53 games she played at Albion.
» Porter played the first three quarters of the game and recorded nine saves in goal, which ties for the ninth-most in a single game in program history. She also led the team with four ground balls, a total that also tied for the ninth-most in a single game.
» Khaleeli had a strong debut as well as the rookie tallied one shot, collected a pair of ground balls, and won four draw controls, the most on the team in the game.
Historical Notes
» Tonight's game was the first between the Eagles and Fighting Irish. It also marked the first ACC foe EMU has faced.
» Eastern is now 0-2 in season-opening games after falling to Niagara, 18-4, in the Eagles' inaugural game, Feb. 16, 2023, at home.
» The six goals scored by the Eagles are the most in a season-opener after being held to four last year against visiting Niagara (18-4).
» The 21 goals surrendered are the most in a game in the program's short history. Last year, the Eagles allowed 19 goals on three occasions with the third time coming at Central Michigan, April 26, 2023 (19-4).
Up Next
The Eagles are back in action on the road next week when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa., to face the Dukes of Duquesne University Thursday, Feb. 15. The opening draw is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
EMU
ND
Shots
20
40
Turnovers
13
7
Caused Turnovers
3
11
Draw Controls
8
20
Free-Position Shots
4
5
Ground Balls
13
15
Game Leaders
Players
G
2
A
2
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
1
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
1
G
1
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
Players Mentioned
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