Lacrosse Opens MAC Play at Akron Sunday

Lacrosse at AKRON
Date	Sunday, March 24 \| 1 p.m.
Venue	InfoCision Stadium \| Akron, Ohio
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	Statistics \| Watch (Zips Digital Network)
Social Media	Instagram: @emu_Lacrosse \| Twitter: @EMU_Lacrosse

AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team is set to open Mid-American Conference play this weekend when the Eagles travel to Akron, Ohio, to take on the Zips of the University of Akron Sunday, March 24, in a 1 p.m. start inside InfoCision Stadium. The Eagles (3-4, 0-0 MAC), the last team in the league to play a conference game this season, will look to secure their first MAC road win when it takes on the Zips (5-6, 0-1), who are coming off a four overtime win at home Tuesday, March 19.

FOLLOW ALONG
The game will be streamed on the Zips Digital Network on GoZips.com with live stats also available by visiting the lacrosse schedule page on EMUEagles.com.

OPENING DRAWS
» Eastern enters the week with a 3-4 record following a split of two games against Big East opposition, including a 15-8 win in the home opener against Butler, March 15, and a 14-5 loss at Marquette, March 17.
» After securing their first two road wins in program history with victories at Howard (Feb. 25) and Delaware State (Feb. 28), the Eagles head to Akron looking for their first road win in conference play after going 0-4 in last year's inaugural season.
» The Eagles lead the MAC in nine statistical categories, including goals (11.29), assists (6.14), and points (17.43), while also ranking first in save percentage (.510), goals against average (11.00), ground balls (20.14), and draw controls per game (14.71).
» Individually, Eastern players lead the MAC in three categories with Mackenzie Blackwell topping the MAC in goals per game (4.00), Tracy Grollman leading in assists (1.57), and Maddie Porter tops in ground balls (4.67).
» On a national level, Maddie Porter leads the NCAA Division I with 4.67 ground balls per game. Her 20 saves at Marquette also rank as the second-most in a single game this season among all NCAA Division I games.
» 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 110-81 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: AKRON
The Zips enter Sunday's MAC contest with a 5-6 record with a 0-1 mark in league play following a 10-9 loss at Robert Morris, March 17. Akron, who bounced back with an 8-7 win in four overtimes against visiting Radford, March 19, are 2-2 on the year at home. Through 11 games played, Sienna Hinchcliffe and Noelle Boyd lead the team with 23 and 22 goals, respectively, with three other players having tallied at least 11 goals in 2024. Defensively, Hannah Sanders has started all 11 games in cage for the Zips and has recorded 77 saves while allowing 113 goals.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. ZIPS
Eastern trails in its all-time series with Akron, 1-0, after dropping a 10-9 home decision, April 22, 2023. The loss to the Zips was one of three in 2023 that were decided by one goal and the only one at home.

LOOKING BACK: BIG EAST SPLIT
Eastern played a pair of games against opponents from the Big East Conference with the Eagles winning, 15-8, at home over Butler, March 15, before falling on the road at Marquette, 14-5, March 17. In the home opener with the Bulldogs, the Eagles jumped out to a 9-0 lead on their way to the win with Mackenzie Blackwell scoring six goals and Caitlin Beahm adding the first two goals of her career, the second of which went as the game-winning goal. Maddie Porter was strong in the cage as she turned aside eight shots for the first win of her collegiate career.
Two days later, the Eagles took on the Golden Eagles with Blackwell and Porter leading the way in the loss. Blackwell added another hat trick, her fifth of the season, with three more goals while Porter stopped a program-record 20 shots. For Porter, the save total ranked as the second-most in a single NCAA Division I game this year.

BRICK WALL
In the game at Marquette, Maddie Porter recorded a school-record 20 saves, bettering the previous mark of 12 set by Giuliana Ditsky in 2023. She also etched her name onto the national ledger as those 20 saves rank tied for the second-most in a single game this year among all NCAA Division I teams.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
Along with Maddie Porter's outstanding save total, four other marks recorded this year rank among the top 20 nationally in single-game production. Mackenzie Blackwell holds two marks as her nine goals at Delaware State (Feb. 28) rank second in NCAA Division I while her nine points in the same game tie for 17th nationally. Porter also holds high rankings for ground balls in a game as her nine at Marquette (March 17) rank seventh while her eight at Lafayette (March 9) rank 13th.

SHE CAN DIG IT
With nine ground balls at Marquette (March 17), Maddie Porter is now averaging 4.67 ground balls per game, a mark that leads not only the MAC, but also the NCAA Division I. One of four players nationally to average 4.0 ground balls per game or better, Porter is the lone goalie in the top five and the only freshman in the top 10 currently.

HIGH MARKS
As a team, the Eagles have posted three marks that rank among the top four nationally in single-game standings with the 20 saves recorded at Marquette (March 17) ranking third in a single game among all NCAA Division I teams. Earlier this year, the 26 draw controls recorded at Duquesne (Feb. 15) rank as the third-most while the 37 ground balls recorded at Howard (Feb. 25) rank fourth.

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS
Through games played March 19, the Eagles lead nine different statistical categories in the MAC, including the top three offensive statistics. Eastern is first in goals per game (11.29), assists per game (6.14), points per game (17.43), shots on goal per game (20.29), and woman-up goals per game (1.86) offensively while the defense ranks first in save percentage (.510), goals against average (11.00), ground balls per game (20.14), and draw controls per game (14.71).

HAPPY HELPERS
It is no surprise the Eagles lead the MAC in assists as the top three individuals on the assist chart all wear the Green and White of Eastern. Tracy Grollman leads the league with 1.57 assists per game while Sydney Lawrence is second (1.43) and Avery Schwab (1.29) is third. Additionally, the team ranks 40th in the NCAA in assists.

DROPPING DIMES
Last year, the Eagles' 16-game inaugural season ended with both Sydney Lawrence and Avery Schwab tying for the team lead with 11 assists each. Through only seven games in 2024, Tracy Grollman has tallied 11 helpers to tie the single season record while Lawrence has accumulated 10 assists and Schwab nine in 2024.

BUILDING HER WARDROBE
Over the weekend, Mackenzie Blackwell tallied nine total goals, including six at home over Butler (March 15) and three more at Marquette (March 17). With those showings, Blackwell recorded the fourth and fifth hat tricks this year, respectively, while bringing her total to 12. Blackwell, who has scored at least one goal in 20-of-23 games played for Eastern Michigan, leads the MAC with 4.0 goals per game, an average that ranks her 13th in the NCAA.

FIRST FOR BEAHM
In the game with Butler (March 15), Caitlin Beahm added her name to the scoring ledger twice as she recorded her first two collegiate goals for the Eagles. Additionally, her second goal, which gave the Eagles a 9-0 lead, stands as the game-winner.

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern Michigan will return to action Sunday, March 31, when the Kent State University Golden Flashes come to town for the Eagles' MAC home opener. The game is scheduled for a 12 p.m. opening draw at Scicluna Field in Ypsilanti.

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

Caitlin Beahm

Mackenzie Blackwell

Giuliana Ditsky

Tracy Grollman

Skylar Hilmer

Gina Jaffurs

Sydney Lawrence

Maddy Porter

Avery Schwab

Annika Wozney

Eastern Michigan Athletics