Eastern Michigan Athletics
Tuesday, February 25
Clinton, S.C.
6 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
Presbyterian
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Lacrosse Heads to the Carolinas for Two
2/24/2025 11:46:00 AM | Lacrosse
Eastern set to play at Presbyterian & Gardner-Webb this week
| Game #3: at PRESBYTERIAN | |
| Date | Tuesday, Feb. 25 | 6 p.m |
| Venue | Bailey Memorial Stadium | Clinton, S.C. |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes |
| Live | Live Stats |
| @EMU_Lacrosse | @EMUAthletics | |
| Game #4: at GARNER-WEBB | |
| Date | Thursday, Feb. 27 | 2 p.m |
| Venue | Spangler Stadium | Boiling Springs, N.C. |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes |
| Live | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats |
| @EMU_Lacrosse | @EMUAthletics | |
Y
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team is heading to the Carolinas for a pair of games this week as the Eagles are set to face both Presbyterian College and Gardner-Webb University on the road. The Eagles (0-2) will take on the Blue Hose (0-2) inside Bailey Memorial Stadium in Clinton, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 25, with the game scheduled to start at 6 p.m. before EMU ventures north to face the Runnin' Bulldogs (0-5) Thursday, Feb. 27, in a 2 p.m. game inside Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs, N.C.
OPENING DRAWS
» Eastern is 0-2 on the season after dropping a 17-7 decision at No. 11 Notre Dame (Feb. 15).
» The Eagles are set to play two members of the Big South this week and are 0-1 against the conference after falling at Winthrop, 16-11, March 3, 2023, in the first road game in program history.
» Two Eagles currently lead the NCAA in a statistical category as freshman Katheryn Wilson is tied for the national lead in free-position shot percentage (1.000/3-of-3) and Maddie Porter, last year's national leader in ground balls at 4.20 per game, leads the same category with 6.00.
» Mackenzie Blackwell scored four goals and added one assist for five points in the opener with San Diego State, bringing her career total to 100 points. She has scored 95 goals and added eight assists in her career, leaving her five goals shy of 100.
» Freshman Katheryn Wilson had a strong debut as she scored four goals with two coming on free-position shots. Wilson, who is tied for the MAC lead in goals and free-position goals, ranks seventh nationally in free-position goals (1.5) and first in free-position shot percentage with a perfect 1.000 (3-of-3).
» Along with her top-ranking in ground balls, Maddie Porter also ranks second in the NCAA in saves per game (14.5) while sitting 34th in save percentage (.545).
» Along with Wilson and Porter, Mackenzie Blackwell is currently ranked nationally in two categories as her 3.50 goals per game sits 34th and her 8.0 shots per game stands 16th.
» Maddie Dugan is in her first season guiding the Eagles. The 2024 MAC Coach of the Year at Detroit Mercy, Dugan took a Titans team that was selected to finish seventh in the standings to the MAC Tournament championship game. She is in her seventh year as a collegiate head coach.
KNOW THE FOE: PRESBYTERIAN
Prebyterian is in the midst of four consecutive games against the MAC to open its season and stands 0-2 after road losses of 15-5 at Kent State (Feb. 20) and 16-4 at Akron (Feb. 22). The Blue Hose, who also will host Detroit Mercy (March 7) to make it four games against the MAC in 2025, are led by Alyssa Perez, who has a team-high four goals and four assists. Defensively, three goalies have seen action with Kalyeigh Aitken starting both games while recording a .353 save percentage and a 15.78 goals-against average per game.
IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. BLUE HOSE
The Eagles and Blue Hose are meeting for the first time.
KNOW THE FOE: GARDNER-WEBB
Gardner-Webb enters the game with a 0-5 record after dropping two home games last week, including a 17-5 decision to Kennesaw State (Feb. 19) and a 16-6 score to Coastal Carolina (Feb. 21). The Runnin' Bulldogs, who are set to play back-to-back games against MAC schools (host Youngstown State, March 6), are led by Ella Grace Bishop and Emma Duchscherer, who both have seven goals and eight total points. Two goalies have seen action with Emma Anderson playing most of the minutes while posting a .304 save percentage and a goals-against average of 18.07 per game.
IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. RUNNIN' BULLDOGS
The Eagles and Runnin' Bulldogs are meeting for the first time.
EAGLES vs. BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE
Eastern is 0-1 all-time against members of the Big South after falling, 16-11, to Winthrop, March 3, 2023. That game marked the first road game in EMU program history and was just the second played in the Eagles' inaugural season.
QUICK RECAP: NOTRE DAME
Mackenzie Blackwell recorded her 25th career multiple-goal game, Avery Schwab handed out three assists, and Maddie Porter tallied 11 saves, but it was not enough as the Eagles fell at No. 11 Notre Dame, 17-7, Feb. 15, inside the Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Ind. The Eagles (0-2) also received two goals from Tracy Grollman against the Fighting Irish (2-1).
ROAD WARRIORS?
After not winning one game on the road in 2023 (0-8), the Eagles went 5-4 away from Ypsilanti last year. After dropping its first two games of 2024 (21-6 at No. 7 Notre Dame and 16-13 at Duquesne), the Eagles won two consecutive away games, including a 16-5 decision at Howard for the program's first road victory and an 18-6 score at Delaware State.
KEEPING IT 100
Mackenzie Blackwell became the first player in EMU history to reach 100 points in her career as her four goals and one assist put her exactly at 100 points. Through the Notre Dame game, Blackwell has scored 95 goals and added eight assists. She is now five goals away from reaching 100 for her career as well.
STAYING ACTIVE
According to the latest release of the NCAA statistics, Mackenzie Blackwell is among the top players nationally as she ranks among the top 50 in three categories among active NCAA Division I players. Blackwell's career 5.50 draw controls per game rank 12th while her 2.79 goals per game sits 14th and her 3.03 points per contest stand 49th.
NATIONALLY RANKED
Through games played Feb. 23, three Eagles are ranked in the national top 50 in multiple statistical categories. Mackenzie Blackwell is currently 16th in shots per game (8.0) and 34th in goals per game (3.5); Katheryn Wilson ranks first in free-position shot percentage (1.000) and seventh free-position goals per game (1.5); and Maddie Porter ranks 1st in ground balls (6.0), 2nd in saves per game (14.5) and 34th in saves percentage (.545).
SENSATIONAL SCOOPING
Maddie Porter finished her freshman season ranked first in the NCAA with 4.20 ground balls per game, marking the first time an EMU player has won a statistical category award from the NCAA in program history. She picked up right where she left off as she leads the nation with 6.0 per game.
MAKING DEBUTS
Five Eagles made their debuts against San Diego State, including four freshmen. The rookies seeing their first action included Stella Burke, Marley Helton, Erin Humphrey, and Katheryn Wilson while Payton Bloedow, saw her first action after transferring in from Stony Brook for her junior season. Additionally, three players earned their first collegiate starts, including sophomore Kendall Nagle and freshmen Burke and Humphrey.
FIRST POINTS
Three rookies tallied their first collegiate points in the game with San Diego State (Feb. 9), led by Katheryn Wilson, who scored four goals. Additionally, Emerson Henry scored her first goal while Stella Burke recorded her first assist.
AHOY, CAPTAINS!
Four Eagles were selected as team captains for the 2025 season. The captains include sophomores Mackenzie Blackwell, Samantha Borgert, Kelsea Dague, and Annika Wozney.
HELLO! MY NAME IS...
The remaining 11 players on the roster are newcomers, including 10 freshmen and one transfer in junior Payton Bloedow.
SEA TO SHINING SEA
The EMU roster features 28 American and five Canadians with players hailing from 13 states and two provinces. Maryland dominates the roster with nine players while Michigan (three), Illinois (two), Georgia (two), Minnesota (two), and Pennsylvania (two) each have multiple representatives. Of the Canadian contingent, three hail from Ontario with two coming from British Columbia.
A MADDIE OF FACT
Maddie Dugan is entering her first season as the head coach of the Eagles after being hired Aug. 8, 2024. The third head coach in program history, Dugan came to Ypsilanti after a successful season at Detroit Mercy, where she was named the 2024 MAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Titans to the MAC Tournament final. Dugan served as the head coach at Trine University, an NCAA Division III program, from 2017-21 where she helped see the program increase its win totals over her five seasons in charge. A standout on the field, Dugan was recently inducted into the Adrian College Athletic Hall of Fame where she helped the Bulldogs to four appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
ADDING MORE
The coaching staff grew by two with the additions of Mikela McCauley as an assistant coach and Liv Dameron as a graduate assistant. McCauley came to Ypsilanti after serving as an undergraduate coach at Vanderbilt while Dameron finished her playing career with the Eagles in 2024 as a graduate player.
AND YOU ARE?
The Eagles' schedule features 16 games with seven at home and nine away. Among those 16 opponents are five the program has previously not played. The newcomers to the schedule include home games with San Diego State (Feb. 9), Canisius (March 1), and Oregon (April 11), and road games at Presbyterian (Feb. 25) and Gardner-Webb (Feb. 27).
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
The 2025 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll was released, Feb. 5, with the Eagles voted to place third in the 2025 MAC regular season standings, the highest predicted finish for the program after being selected sixth (tie) in 2023 and fourth (2024). Robert Morris was first with 34 points while Central Michigan was second with 31. EMU earned one first-place vote and two votes to win the conference tournament, both of which were firsts for the program.
ON THE HORIZON
Following its two midweek games, Eastern returns to action at home Saturday, March 1, with an 11 a.m. contest against Canisius University inside the EMU Indoor Practice Facility. Admission is free for all fans.
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.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team is heading to the Carolinas for a pair of games this week as the Eagles are set to face both Presbyterian College and Gardner-Webb University on the road. The Eagles (0-2) will take on the Blue Hose (0-2) inside Bailey Memorial Stadium in Clinton, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 25, with the game scheduled to start at 6 p.m. before EMU ventures north to face the Runnin' Bulldogs (0-5) Thursday, Feb. 27, in a 2 p.m. game inside Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs, N.C.
OPENING DRAWS
» Eastern is 0-2 on the season after dropping a 17-7 decision at No. 11 Notre Dame (Feb. 15).
» The Eagles are set to play two members of the Big South this week and are 0-1 against the conference after falling at Winthrop, 16-11, March 3, 2023, in the first road game in program history.
» Two Eagles currently lead the NCAA in a statistical category as freshman Katheryn Wilson is tied for the national lead in free-position shot percentage (1.000/3-of-3) and Maddie Porter, last year's national leader in ground balls at 4.20 per game, leads the same category with 6.00.
» Mackenzie Blackwell scored four goals and added one assist for five points in the opener with San Diego State, bringing her career total to 100 points. She has scored 95 goals and added eight assists in her career, leaving her five goals shy of 100.
» Freshman Katheryn Wilson had a strong debut as she scored four goals with two coming on free-position shots. Wilson, who is tied for the MAC lead in goals and free-position goals, ranks seventh nationally in free-position goals (1.5) and first in free-position shot percentage with a perfect 1.000 (3-of-3).
» Along with her top-ranking in ground balls, Maddie Porter also ranks second in the NCAA in saves per game (14.5) while sitting 34th in save percentage (.545).
» Along with Wilson and Porter, Mackenzie Blackwell is currently ranked nationally in two categories as her 3.50 goals per game sits 34th and her 8.0 shots per game stands 16th.
» Maddie Dugan is in her first season guiding the Eagles. The 2024 MAC Coach of the Year at Detroit Mercy, Dugan took a Titans team that was selected to finish seventh in the standings to the MAC Tournament championship game. She is in her seventh year as a collegiate head coach.
KNOW THE FOE: PRESBYTERIAN
Prebyterian is in the midst of four consecutive games against the MAC to open its season and stands 0-2 after road losses of 15-5 at Kent State (Feb. 20) and 16-4 at Akron (Feb. 22). The Blue Hose, who also will host Detroit Mercy (March 7) to make it four games against the MAC in 2025, are led by Alyssa Perez, who has a team-high four goals and four assists. Defensively, three goalies have seen action with Kalyeigh Aitken starting both games while recording a .353 save percentage and a 15.78 goals-against average per game.
IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. BLUE HOSE
The Eagles and Blue Hose are meeting for the first time.
KNOW THE FOE: GARDNER-WEBB
Gardner-Webb enters the game with a 0-5 record after dropping two home games last week, including a 17-5 decision to Kennesaw State (Feb. 19) and a 16-6 score to Coastal Carolina (Feb. 21). The Runnin' Bulldogs, who are set to play back-to-back games against MAC schools (host Youngstown State, March 6), are led by Ella Grace Bishop and Emma Duchscherer, who both have seven goals and eight total points. Two goalies have seen action with Emma Anderson playing most of the minutes while posting a .304 save percentage and a goals-against average of 18.07 per game.
IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. RUNNIN' BULLDOGS
The Eagles and Runnin' Bulldogs are meeting for the first time.
EAGLES vs. BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE
Eastern is 0-1 all-time against members of the Big South after falling, 16-11, to Winthrop, March 3, 2023. That game marked the first road game in EMU program history and was just the second played in the Eagles' inaugural season.
QUICK RECAP: NOTRE DAME
Mackenzie Blackwell recorded her 25th career multiple-goal game, Avery Schwab handed out three assists, and Maddie Porter tallied 11 saves, but it was not enough as the Eagles fell at No. 11 Notre Dame, 17-7, Feb. 15, inside the Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Ind. The Eagles (0-2) also received two goals from Tracy Grollman against the Fighting Irish (2-1).
ROAD WARRIORS?
After not winning one game on the road in 2023 (0-8), the Eagles went 5-4 away from Ypsilanti last year. After dropping its first two games of 2024 (21-6 at No. 7 Notre Dame and 16-13 at Duquesne), the Eagles won two consecutive away games, including a 16-5 decision at Howard for the program's first road victory and an 18-6 score at Delaware State.
KEEPING IT 100
Mackenzie Blackwell became the first player in EMU history to reach 100 points in her career as her four goals and one assist put her exactly at 100 points. Through the Notre Dame game, Blackwell has scored 95 goals and added eight assists. She is now five goals away from reaching 100 for her career as well.
STAYING ACTIVE
According to the latest release of the NCAA statistics, Mackenzie Blackwell is among the top players nationally as she ranks among the top 50 in three categories among active NCAA Division I players. Blackwell's career 5.50 draw controls per game rank 12th while her 2.79 goals per game sits 14th and her 3.03 points per contest stand 49th.
NATIONALLY RANKED
Through games played Feb. 23, three Eagles are ranked in the national top 50 in multiple statistical categories. Mackenzie Blackwell is currently 16th in shots per game (8.0) and 34th in goals per game (3.5); Katheryn Wilson ranks first in free-position shot percentage (1.000) and seventh free-position goals per game (1.5); and Maddie Porter ranks 1st in ground balls (6.0), 2nd in saves per game (14.5) and 34th in saves percentage (.545).
SENSATIONAL SCOOPING
Maddie Porter finished her freshman season ranked first in the NCAA with 4.20 ground balls per game, marking the first time an EMU player has won a statistical category award from the NCAA in program history. She picked up right where she left off as she leads the nation with 6.0 per game.
MAKING DEBUTS
Five Eagles made their debuts against San Diego State, including four freshmen. The rookies seeing their first action included Stella Burke, Marley Helton, Erin Humphrey, and Katheryn Wilson while Payton Bloedow, saw her first action after transferring in from Stony Brook for her junior season. Additionally, three players earned their first collegiate starts, including sophomore Kendall Nagle and freshmen Burke and Humphrey.
FIRST POINTS
Three rookies tallied their first collegiate points in the game with San Diego State (Feb. 9), led by Katheryn Wilson, who scored four goals. Additionally, Emerson Henry scored her first goal while Stella Burke recorded her first assist.
AHOY, CAPTAINS!
Four Eagles were selected as team captains for the 2025 season. The captains include sophomores Mackenzie Blackwell, Samantha Borgert, Kelsea Dague, and Annika Wozney.
HELLO! MY NAME IS...
The remaining 11 players on the roster are newcomers, including 10 freshmen and one transfer in junior Payton Bloedow.
SEA TO SHINING SEA
The EMU roster features 28 American and five Canadians with players hailing from 13 states and two provinces. Maryland dominates the roster with nine players while Michigan (three), Illinois (two), Georgia (two), Minnesota (two), and Pennsylvania (two) each have multiple representatives. Of the Canadian contingent, three hail from Ontario with two coming from British Columbia.
A MADDIE OF FACT
Maddie Dugan is entering her first season as the head coach of the Eagles after being hired Aug. 8, 2024. The third head coach in program history, Dugan came to Ypsilanti after a successful season at Detroit Mercy, where she was named the 2024 MAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Titans to the MAC Tournament final. Dugan served as the head coach at Trine University, an NCAA Division III program, from 2017-21 where she helped see the program increase its win totals over her five seasons in charge. A standout on the field, Dugan was recently inducted into the Adrian College Athletic Hall of Fame where she helped the Bulldogs to four appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
ADDING MORE
The coaching staff grew by two with the additions of Mikela McCauley as an assistant coach and Liv Dameron as a graduate assistant. McCauley came to Ypsilanti after serving as an undergraduate coach at Vanderbilt while Dameron finished her playing career with the Eagles in 2024 as a graduate player.
AND YOU ARE?
The Eagles' schedule features 16 games with seven at home and nine away. Among those 16 opponents are five the program has previously not played. The newcomers to the schedule include home games with San Diego State (Feb. 9), Canisius (March 1), and Oregon (April 11), and road games at Presbyterian (Feb. 25) and Gardner-Webb (Feb. 27).
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
The 2025 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll was released, Feb. 5, with the Eagles voted to place third in the 2025 MAC regular season standings, the highest predicted finish for the program after being selected sixth (tie) in 2023 and fourth (2024). Robert Morris was first with 34 points while Central Michigan was second with 31. EMU earned one first-place vote and two votes to win the conference tournament, both of which were firsts for the program.
ON THE HORIZON
Following its two midweek games, Eastern returns to action at home Saturday, March 1, with an 11 a.m. contest against Canisius University inside the EMU Indoor Practice Facility. Admission is free for all fans.
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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