Home Opener Awaits Lacrosse Friday

Game #6 - HOME OPENER vs. BUTLER
Date	Friday, March 15 - 12 p.m.
Venue	Scicluna Field (Ypsilanti)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMU_Lacrosse \| @EMUAthletics

Game #7 - at MARQUETTE
Date	Sunday, March 17 - 1 p.m. ET
Venue	Varsity Fields (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	Watch ($) \| Live Stats
Twitter	@E MU_Lacrosse \| @EMUAthletics

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- For the first time in 2024, the Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team will play at home as the Eagles are set to welcome Butler University to Scicluna Field in Ypsilanti, Mich., Friday, March 15, in the first of two contests for EMU this week. Following the home opener with the Bulldogs, which will hold the opening draw at noon, the Eagles will head to Milwaukee, Wis., to take on the Marquette University Golden Eagles Sunday, March 17. The battle of birds is set for a 12 p.m. CT (1 p.m. ET) opening draw and will air live on FloSports.

FOLLOW ALONG
Fans looking to follow along during the games this week can do so via live statistics. Additionally, the game at Marquette will air live on FloSports (subscription needed) with Peter Ferreri and Eric Simon on the call. Links for the broadcast and live stats can be found on the lacrosse schedule page at EMUEagles.com.

OPENING DRAWS
» Eastern enters the week with a 2-3 record following its 7-6 road loss at Lafayette, March 9.
» In the game at Lafayette, the 13 combined goals are the fewest in any game the Eagles have played, surpassing the 19 tallied three times, most recently in a 10-9 home loss to Akron, April 22, 2023.
» The Eastern defense has been stout in the last three games as it has surrendered an average of 6.0 goals per game after allowing five at Howard (Feb. 25), six at Delaware State (Feb. 28), and seven at Lafayette (March 9). Last year, EMU held only one foe to single-digit goals when it defeated DSU, 12-7, at home (March 7, 2023).
» Through five games played, the EMU defense has allowed just 55 goals, 11 fewer than this point last year. On the flip side, the offense has scored 59 goals, a 14-score improvement over last year's 45 at this point.
» In 16 games last year, 12 Eagles scored at least one goal. Eastern has matched that total already in 2024.
» Roya Khaleeli has made the most of the first five games of her freshman season as she is the only player on the team with double digit totals in both draw controls (13) and ground balls (11).
» Rookie goalie Maddie Porter was back in the cage at Lafayette and was quite a disruptive force as she allowed just seven goals, made seven saves, recorded a school-record eight ground balls, and caused one turnover.
» The Eagles are playing back-to-back games against Big East foes for the second year in a row after hosting Marquette, March 24, 2023, before traveling to Butler, March 26, 2023. Eastern dropped both games, including an 18-5 score to the Golden Eagles and a close 14-13 setback to the Bulldogs.
» 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 109-80 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: BUTLER
After opening their season with a 13-12 home victory over Central Michigan (Feb. 9), the Bulldogs have dropped six consecutive games, including two in California with an 11-8 setback at UC Davis (March 9) and a 16-8 loss at California (March 12), to sit 1-6 in 2024. Offensively, Leah Rubino leads the way with a team-high 20 goals while Luci Selander has netted 14, including two in the last game with the Golden Bears. Defensively, Carolina Smith has seen most of the minutes in the cage for the Bulldogs as she has recorded 76 saves and allowed 106 goals.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. BULLDOGS
Eastern Michigan and Butler are set to meet for the second time with the Bulldogs holding a 1-0 lead in the series. Butler claimed a 14-13 win, March 26, 2023, in the first meeting in Indianapolis, one of three, one-goal losses the Eagles suffered in its inaugural season.

SCOUTING: MARQUETTE
The Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 2-6 record and have lost three in a row, including a 19-17 decision at Niagara (March 3), a 17-11 home loss to No. 19 Colorado (March 8), and a 22-17 loss at Ohio State (March 12). Meg Bireley leads a group of five players that have scored 10+ goals on the season having tallied 34 on her own while Leigh Steiner has added 17 goals and a team-high 10 assists. Defensively, Brynna Nixon has started all eight games in the cage, recording 55 saves while allowing 112 goals.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. GOLDEN EAGLES
Eastern Michigan and Marquette will meet for the second time after the Golden Eagles left Ypsilanti with an 18-5 win, March 24, 2023.

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS...
The wheels on the bus are finally stopping this week as the Eagles are set to play their first home game of the 2024 season after opening the campaign with five consecutive road contests. After dropping all eight road games last year and the first two this year, the Eagles put two ticks in the win column as they won, 16-5, at Howard, Feb. 25, before downing Delaware State, Feb. 28. Those wins are the first on the road in program history and stand as the first winning streak in program history.

LOOKING BACK: CLOSE GAME AT LAFAYETTE
The Eagles, looking for their third win in a row, dropped a close, 7-6, decision at Lafayette, March 9. After taking a 1-0 lead, the Eagles found themselves down, 5-2, at halftime. Two goals scored and a shutout of the Leopards in the third trimmed the deficit to 5-4 after the third, but EMU was unable to overtake the hosts before falling, 7-6. Sydney Lawrence led the way with a pair of goals while goalie Maddie Porter tallied a school-record eight ground balls to go along with seven saves.

KEEP IT ON THE LOW
Throughout the 16 games played in the inaugural season last year (2023), the Eagles held their opponent to under 10 goals just one time as EMU downed visiting Delaware State, 12-7, March 7, 2023. Through five games this season, the Eagles have accomplished the feat three times with all three coming in the last three games. The Eagles set a school record by holding Howard (Feb. 25) to just five goals in a 16-5 win before limiting DSU (Feb. 28) to six in EMU's 18-6 win. The Eagles extended their streak to three consecutive games with the seven allowed to Lafayette, March 9.

KEEP IT REAL LOW
The 13 combined goals scored between Eastern Michigan and Lafayette, March 9, are the fewest in an EMU game in program history. Prior to the game with the Leopards, 19 combined goals had been the lowest scored, which happened three times in 2023, most recently in a 10-9 home loss to Akron, April 22, 2023.

THAT'S DIFFERENT
Through five games in 2024, Eastern is 2-3 and has seen significant improvements across the board from last year. The Eagles have already scored 59 goals, which is a 14-goal improvement from this point in the 2023 season while the defense has done the same, allowing just 55 goals in 2024, which is an 11-goal improvement over 2023.

ROOKIE LEADING THE WAY
Freshman Roya Khaleeli has made the most of her five games with the Eagles as she is the only player on the team with double digit totals in both draw controls and ground balls. The rookie has tallied 13 draw controls and 11 ground balls while adding a pair of caused turnovers while scoring three goals.

LEADING THE MAC
Eastern leads the MAC in nine statistical categories, including goals per game (11.8), assists per game (6.4), and points per game (18.2). Additionally, the Eagles are tops on the charts in save percentage (48.6), goals against average (11.0), ground balls per game (19.0), and draw controls per game (16.6).

NATIONALLY KNOWN
On a national level, the Eagles rank among the top 50 in the NCAA in seven of those categories, including No. 16 in draw controls (16.6) and No. 18 in both save percentage (48.6) and ground balls (19.0).

ON THE HORIZON
The Eagles return to action March 24 when they travel to Akron, Ohio, to open Mid-American Conference play against the University of Akron Zips. The first draw of the game is slated for 1 p.m.

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Blackwell

Skylar Hilmer

Gina Jaffurs

Roya Khaleeli

Sydney Lawrence

Maddy Porter

Annika Wozney

Eastern Michigan Athletics