Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, May 2
Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
4 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
7-9, 4-2MAC
11
vs
12
Robert Morris
7-11, 4-2MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Michigan
4
3
2
2
11
Robert Morris
3
2
3
4
12
Lacrosse Falls in MAC Semifinal to Robert Morris, 12-11
5/2/2024 9:05:00 PM | Lacrosse
Historic season comes to an end in the program’s first postseason appearance
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Six goals from Sydney Lawrence, the 2024 Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year, was not enough as the Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team fell in a highly competitive game with Robert Morris University Thursday, May 2, in the semifinals of the 2024 MAC Tournament in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The Eagles (7-9), who made their debut in the postseason in just their second varsity campaign, held the lead much of the game before Colonials (7-11) used four goals in the final quarter to pull out the win at the Central Michigan University Lacrosse Complex.
How It Happened
In a reversal of last week's contest in Ypsilanti -- a 12-10 RMU win, April 27 -- the Eagles tallied the first two goals of the game as Lawrence (Plano, Texas/Plano East/Oregon) and Amber Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) each scored in the opening two minutes of play for a quick 2-0 lead. The Colonials struck back with two of their own goals to tie the game at 2-2, the first of five ties in the contest. Eastern responded with two more goals as Kelsea Dague (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) was assisted by Mackenzie Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern) before Lawrence hammered home her second of the contest. A goal with two seconds remaining cut the EMU advantage to 4-3 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second, Abby Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) joined in on the scoring to push the lead back to two goals and start a back-and-forth streak of five goals scored between the teams. After an RMU goal, Lawrence collected her hat trick before Dague added her second to close out the half and give the Eagles a 7-5 lead at the break.
The third quarter saw the Colonials score twice to tie the game at 7-7 before Lawrence scored her fourth, this time on a free-position shot. After another RMU goal, the Aldermans connected for a goal as Abby Alderman dished to Amber Alderman for the score and a 9-8 lead heading to the fourth.
In the final stanza, the Colonials scored twice to take their first lead, 10-9, before Lawrence collected her fifth of the tie to knot things at 10-10. But two goals from RMU would push the deficit to 12-10 with just under four minutes remaining. Despite a valiant effort and a sixth goal from Lawrence with 2:32 remaining, the Eagles were unable to find the tying goal and fell, 12-11.
Game Notes
» Eastern finished the season with a 7-9 record. It marked a five-game improvement over its inaugural 2023 season in which the Eagles posted a 2-14 record.
» The game against Robert Morris marked the first tournament game, first postseason appearance, and first neutral site contest in program history.
» Sydney Lawrence finished her final collegiate game by stuffing the stat sheet once again. She finished the game with six goals, five draw controls, two ground balls, and one caused turnover.
» The six goals scored by Sydney Lawrence tie the MAC Tournament record for individual goals in a game. The only other time it happened came May 5, 2022, when Natalie Calandra-Ryan scored six for Youngstown State University against Robert Morris in the MAC Tournament semifinals at Central Michigan.
» Abby Alderman finished the game with two points on one goal and one assist to bring her streak to six consecutive games with at least one point. She added three ground balls and four draw controls as well.
» Kelsea Dague and Amber Alderman each scored two goals in the game. For Dague, it marked the ninth time this season she scored multiple goals in the same game.
» The Eagles out-drew the Colonials, winning 20-of-26 draw controls on the day. Both Sydney Lawrence and Kelsea Dague recorded five each while Abby Alderman added four.
» Maddie Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) finished with six saves while causing two turnovers and collecting three ground balls, which is just under her NCAA-leading average (4.29).
Series Notes
» Eastern fell to 0-3 all-time against Robert Morris and 0-1 when playing the Colonials at a neutral site.
» The game marked back-to-back losses for the Eagles after falling to Robert Morris, 12-10, five days ago, April 27, in Ypsilanti.
Up Next
The second season of Eastern Michigan lacrosse has come to an end. Fans are encouraged to follow the team's social media accounts to find out more about the program, including fall play dates and information for the 2025 season.
How It Happened
In a reversal of last week's contest in Ypsilanti -- a 12-10 RMU win, April 27 -- the Eagles tallied the first two goals of the game as Lawrence (Plano, Texas/Plano East/Oregon) and Amber Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) each scored in the opening two minutes of play for a quick 2-0 lead. The Colonials struck back with two of their own goals to tie the game at 2-2, the first of five ties in the contest. Eastern responded with two more goals as Kelsea Dague (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) was assisted by Mackenzie Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern) before Lawrence hammered home her second of the contest. A goal with two seconds remaining cut the EMU advantage to 4-3 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second, Abby Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) joined in on the scoring to push the lead back to two goals and start a back-and-forth streak of five goals scored between the teams. After an RMU goal, Lawrence collected her hat trick before Dague added her second to close out the half and give the Eagles a 7-5 lead at the break.
The third quarter saw the Colonials score twice to tie the game at 7-7 before Lawrence scored her fourth, this time on a free-position shot. After another RMU goal, the Aldermans connected for a goal as Abby Alderman dished to Amber Alderman for the score and a 9-8 lead heading to the fourth.
In the final stanza, the Colonials scored twice to take their first lead, 10-9, before Lawrence collected her fifth of the tie to knot things at 10-10. But two goals from RMU would push the deficit to 12-10 with just under four minutes remaining. Despite a valiant effort and a sixth goal from Lawrence with 2:32 remaining, the Eagles were unable to find the tying goal and fell, 12-11.
Game Notes
» Eastern finished the season with a 7-9 record. It marked a five-game improvement over its inaugural 2023 season in which the Eagles posted a 2-14 record.
» The game against Robert Morris marked the first tournament game, first postseason appearance, and first neutral site contest in program history.
» Sydney Lawrence finished her final collegiate game by stuffing the stat sheet once again. She finished the game with six goals, five draw controls, two ground balls, and one caused turnover.
» The six goals scored by Sydney Lawrence tie the MAC Tournament record for individual goals in a game. The only other time it happened came May 5, 2022, when Natalie Calandra-Ryan scored six for Youngstown State University against Robert Morris in the MAC Tournament semifinals at Central Michigan.
» Abby Alderman finished the game with two points on one goal and one assist to bring her streak to six consecutive games with at least one point. She added three ground balls and four draw controls as well.
» Kelsea Dague and Amber Alderman each scored two goals in the game. For Dague, it marked the ninth time this season she scored multiple goals in the same game.
» The Eagles out-drew the Colonials, winning 20-of-26 draw controls on the day. Both Sydney Lawrence and Kelsea Dague recorded five each while Abby Alderman added four.
» Maddie Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) finished with six saves while causing two turnovers and collecting three ground balls, which is just under her NCAA-leading average (4.29).
Series Notes
» Eastern fell to 0-3 all-time against Robert Morris and 0-1 when playing the Colonials at a neutral site.
» The game marked back-to-back losses for the Eagles after falling to Robert Morris, 12-10, five days ago, April 27, in Ypsilanti.
Up Next
The second season of Eastern Michigan lacrosse has come to an end. Fans are encouraged to follow the team's social media accounts to find out more about the program, including fall play dates and information for the 2025 season.
Team Stats
EMU
RMU
Shots
34
23
Turnovers
16
9
Caused Turnovers
8
11
Draw Controls
20
6
Free-Position Shots
5
5
Ground Balls
16
11
Game Leaders
Players
G
6
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
1
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
1
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
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