Lacrosse Hosts Canisius Saturday Morning

GAME #5 \| Lacrosse vs. Canisius
Date	Saturday, March 1 \| 11 a.m.
Venue	Indoor Practice Facility \| Ypsilanti
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	Live Statistics
Social Media	Instagram: @emu_Lacrosse \| Twitter: @EMU_Lacrosse

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse teams, winners of two consecutive games, will play host to the Golden Griffins of Canisius University Saturday, March 1, inside the EMU Indoor Practice Facility in Ypsilanti. The game between the Eagles (2-2) and Golden Griffins (1-3) will start at 11 a.m.

OPENING DRAWS
» Eastern is 2-2 on the season after sweeping a two-game road trip through the Carolinas, including a 19-10 win at Presbyterian (Feb. 25) and a 16-6 win at Gardner-Webb (Feb. 27).
» The win at Presbyterian was not only the first of the season for the Eagles, but also stands as the first for Maddie Dugan as the program's head coach.
» The Eagles' 35 goals scored in the past two games are the most in a two-game stretch in program history.
» During the road trip, four players scored at least four goals, including Mackenzie Blackwell with nine, Katheryn Wilson with seven, and both Payton Bloedow and Kyleigh Dill with four each. Overall, 11 different players scored at least one goal on the road trip.
» Mackenzie Blackwell reached 100 career goals with her first of five scored at Gardner-Webb. Already over 100 career points, Blackwell posted two hat tricks on the weekend, making 4-of-4 games with hat tricks this year.
» Katheryn Wilson tallied a pair of hat tricks to bring her season total to three. She scored three at Presbyterian before tying her career high with four at Gardner-Webb. She added a pair of assists against the Runnin' Bulldogs to tally a career-high six points.
» 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: CANISIUS
The Golden Griffins are 1-3 on the year and are coming off a 12-7 loss at Detroit Mercy (Feb. 22). Canisius opened the year with a 23-3 loss at No. 2 Northwestern and an 18-6 loss at St. Bonaventure before securing its first win of the season at Kennesaw State, 15-12. Maddie Fitzgerald leads the team with 10 points on seven goals and three assists while Olivia Licardi holds a 15.67 goals-against average and 17 saves in three games played.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. GOLDEN GRIFFINS
The Eagles and Golden Griffins are meeting for the first time.

QUICK RECAP: PRESBYTERIAN
» To say it was a career day for Payton Bloedow might be an understatement. The junior transfer, who had played 13 career games with one goal scored, finished the game with four goals on four shots to record her first hat trick, her first multiple-goal game and her first score since netting one at Elon, March 25, 2023, while playing for Stony Brook. Additionally, she scored one goal as EMU was one woman-down, marking just the third short-handed goal scored in program history.
» Payton Bloedow's third goal of the game came with one second remaining before halftime, the latest an Eagle has scored in a quarter in program history. The previous latest goal came with six seconds remaining in the second quarter against Xavier, April 17, 2024, when Skylar Hilmer found the netting.
» Mackenzie Blackwell scored four goals, including one in each quarter, to mark her third hat trick of the season in as many games. The team's leader with 11 goals this season, Blackwell has tallied 20 career hat tricks for the Eagles and 26 career multiple-goals games in 34 played. Additionally, Blackwell has now scored 99 career goals.
» Kyleigh Dill entered the game with a career-high two goals in a single game and two points in four different games. She finished with three goals on three shots to record her first career hat trick and her fifth career multiple point game. The last time she scored multiple goals came Feb. 15, 2024, at Duquesne when she netted two. Additionally, the last time she recorded multiple points in the same game was April 17, 2024, against Xavier.
» Katheryn Wilson posted her second career hat trick with three goals against PC after netting four in the opener with San Diego State. Wilson, who scored three consecutive goals for the Eagles in the second quarter, scored one free-position goal, giving her four on the season. Additionally, her second goal of the game went down as the game-winning score, her first of the year.
» Sydney Howard recorded her first points she dished her first assist before scoring her first collegiate goal. Her goal with 5:16 remaining in the game was the 18th on the day and tied the previous school record for team goals in a single contest.
» Emerson Henry led the team with nine draw controls, which tied for the seventh-most in a single game in program history. She is only the third EMU player to record 9+ draw controls in a single game, joining Mackenzie Blackwell (nine times) and Sydney Lawrence (once).
» Maddie Porter recorded 14 saves, which ranks third all-time in EMU single-game history. She has tallied at least 11 stops in all three games this year, including the 18 made against San Diego State in the opener, which ranks second.
» The 19 goals scored are the most in a single game in program history, surpassing the 18 scored at Youngstown State (April 21, 2024) and at Delaware State (Feb. 28, 2024).
» EMU twice went on big scoring runs as the seven consecutive goals scored at the end of the third and into the fourth ranks as the third-longest in program history behind a pair of nine-goal runs. The six-goal run in the second quarter tied for the sixth-longest.
» The seven goals scored in the third quarter tied for the most in any quarter in program history with the seven scored in the third at YSU (April 21, 2024) and against Detroit Mercy (April 29, 2023) in the inaugural season finale. The six goals scored in the second rank as the fourth-most in a single quarter.
» The team finished with 23 points on 19 goals and four assists, with stands as the fifth-most in a single game. To get there, eight different players scored at least one goal, which tied for the second-most in a single game (10 at Howard, Feb. 25, 2024) while 10 different players recorded at least one point, which is a single-game record.
» The Eagles were strong in special situations as the team finished with seven free-position goals on 13 shots. The seven goals from the fan are a single-game record, surpassing the six recorded at Butler, March 26, 2023.
» Defensively, the 14 saves recorded rank third all-time in a single game and mark the third game of 11+ saves recorded this year.

QUICK RECAP: GARDNER-WEBB
» Mackenzie Blackwell recorded a season-high five goals, which ranks tied for the sixth-most in a single game at EMU. Her 27th career game with multiple goals, Blackwell has recorded a hat trick in four consecutive games to open the season to bring her career total to 21. She finished the game with six points, which tied for the fifth-highest total in EMU history.
» With her first goal in the game, a score that was assisted by Payton Bloedow, gave EMU a 3-0 lead, Mackenzie Blackwell tallied her 100th career goal. She finished the game with five totals to bring her career total to 104.
» Katheryn Wilson posted her third hat trick of the season as she tied her career high with four goals while adding her first career multiple assist game for a career-best six points. The six points tied for the fifth-highest total in a single game at EMU.
» Emerson Henry recorded her first multiple goal game as she finished with two scores. Henry tallied a career-high three points in the game as she also secured her first career assist.
» The Eagles continued to shine in the draw circle as they won the category, 19-7, over the Runnin' Bulldogs. Emerson Henry, after recording nine at Presbyterian, led the team with eight while Mackenzie Blackwell added seven.
» Avery Schwab scored her first goal of the season, which also became her first career game-winning goal. Schwab added one assist in the game as well.
» Maddie Porter earned the win in goal by stopping seven shots and allowing five goals. Freshman Elanya Narloch saw her first action as she played the final 7:50 of the game where she made one save and allowed one goal.
» The offense posted another strong outing as EMU finished with 16 goals and eight assists for 24 points. On a single-game level, all three totals tied for the fourth-highest in program history.
» Eastern scored seven consecutive goals -- including one to end the third quarter before scoring six in a row to open the fourth -- for the second game in a row after doing so at Presbyterian, Feb. 25. The run of goals tied for the third-longest in program history.
» Seven different Eagles recorded at least one assist and 10 recorded at least one point, both of which tied a school record. The previous time the Eagles tallied those totals was two days prior at Presbyterian. Additionally, eight players scored at least one goal to tie for the second-highest total in a single game.
» With its 19-10 win at Presbyterian (Feb. 25) and its 16-6 win at Gardner-Webb, the Eagle combined to score 35 goals, the highest total it has tallied in back-to-back games in program history. The previous high was 34 goals scored in road games at Howard (Feb. 25, 2024) and Delaware State (Feb. 28, 2024) when EMU posted wins of 16-5 and 18-6, respectively.
» The six goals allowed on defense tied for the second-fewest in a game with the six conceded to Delaware State last year (Feb. 28, 2024). The record is five EMU posted against Howard, Feb. 25, 2024.
» The game went into a lightning delay with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter. The delay lasted 1:07.

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. The wins at Presbyterian and Gardner-Webb marked the second time the Eagles have won back-to-back road games in program history.

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. She reached 100 career goals with her first of five goals at Gardner-Webb.

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
Two road games await the Eagles next week as they will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., for a 3 p.m. contest at Butler University, March 7, before playing in a noon game in Cincinnati, Ohio, against the University of Cincinnati, March 9.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Blackwell

Payton Bloedow

Samantha Borgert

Stella Burke

Kelsea Dague

Kyleigh Dill

Marley Helton

Emerson Henry

Skylar Hilmer

Sydney Howard

Erin Humphrey

Sydney Lawrence

Kendall Nagle

Elanya Narloch

Maddy Porter

Avery Schwab

Katheryn Wilson

Annika Wozney

Eastern Michigan Athletics