LAX Welcomes Akron in MAC Showdown Sunday

GAME #15 \| Lacrosse vs. AKRON
Date	Sunday, April 20 \| 1 p.m.
Venue	Scicluna Field \| Ypsilanti, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	Watch (ESPN+) \| Live Statistics
Social Media	Instagram: @emu_Lacrosse \| Twitter: @EMU_Lacrosse

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Another showdown in Mid-American Conference play awaits the Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team this weekend as the Eagles are set to play host to the Zips of the University of Akron at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 20, at Scicluna Field in Ypsilanti. The Eagles (7-7, 3-2 MAC) sit just behind the Zips (8-6, 3-1 MAC) in the league standings with two weeks to play as four teams currently have secured three league wins, leaving the race for the top spot up for grabs.

OPENING DRAWS
» Eastern is 7-7 overall and 3-2 in the MAC following a split of two games last week that included a 13-11 home loss to Oregon and a 15-8 win at Kent State.
» With the win over Kent State (April 13), the Eagles recorded their seventh win of the season to tie the program record for wins. The record was set last year when EMU finished 7-9 in its second season.
» With two weeks to play, the top of the MAC standings is congested with four, three-win teams. Akron and Robert Morris are in the lead at 3-1 with Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan third at 3-2. Detroit Mercy is 2-2.
» For the second consecutive week, Mackenzie Blackwell has been named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week. It marked her third offensive award from the MAC (March 4, April 8, and April 15) and her fourth award this season from the league as she was named the MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week (April 9) as well.
» Mackenzie Blackwell broke four single-season school records with stats recorded last week as she bettered her previous records in goals (53), hat tricks (12), points, (58), shots (111), and shots on goal (74). Her previous records, set last year, were 49 goals, 10 hat tricks, 54 points, 89 shots, and 72 shots on goal.
» A big reason Mackenzie Blackwell broke the records last week was her performance at Kent State where she tallied eight goals and one assist for nine points. Her eight goals tie for the second-most in a single game in program history while tying for the most against a MAC foe while her nine points tie for the second-most in a single game while sitting second all-time in a MAC contest.
» Two Eagles are closing in on single season records. Maddie Porter, who broke the saves record last week (147), is two ground balls away from tying her own record of 63 set last year. Emerson Henry has tallied 80 draw control wins, leaving her three shy of tying Mackenzie Blackwell's freshman record of 83 set in 2023. Blackwell holds the overall single season record with 94 recorded last year.
» Maddie Porter recorded 14 ground balls in two games last week, including 10 at Kent State, to bring her season total to 4.36 per game, the highest average in the nation among NCAA Division I players and the fifth-highest among all NCAA divisions.
» Maddie Porter, who recorded her 200th career save earlier this season, is creeping up on a pair of milestones. On the single-season ledger, she is three away from becoming the first Eagle to record 150+ saves in a season. For her career, she needs 21 stops to become the first to reach 300 stops in program history.
» Several early-season wins came with milestones as the 19-10 win at Presbyterian (Feb. 25) was the first for Maddie Dugan as head coach at EMU and her first road win with the Eagles. The win at home over Canisius (March 1) marked her first home victory and the first time in program history the Eagles had won at the EMU Indoor Practice Facility (0-4 entering the game).
» Maddie Dugan is in her first season guiding the Eagles. The 2024 MAC Coach of the Year at Detroit Mercy, Dugan took a Titan 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.

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MAC BACK-TO-BACK FOR MACK
For the second consecutive week, Mackenzie Blackwell was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week following her 11-goal, 12-point performance in games with Oregon and Kent State. After scoring a hat trick against the Ducks for her fifth hat trick against a 'Power 4' school this year, Blackwell followed with a nine-point performance at KSU that featured eight goals, the most to be scored by any player in the MAC this season. Blackwell has now been honored as the MAC Offensive Player of the Week three times this year and added the MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week, April 9, the first weekly academic honor in program history.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO...
The EMU Athletic Department held its 9th Annual YPSI Awards Show Wednesday, April 16, with members of the team earning awards. Tracy Grollman was named the program's Teammate of the Year ahead of the show. During the event, Roya Khaleeli was the first from the program to be honored as she received the Eagles U Achievement Award as her involvement on campus and in the Ypsilanti community saw her accumulate over 60 hours of community service work. Later, Allison Lane was named the Assistant Coach of the Year before Mackenzie Blackwell took home to top honor as the Female Athlete of the Year.

KNOW THE FOE: AKRON
The Zips come to town with an 8-6 record (3-1 MAC) following a 22-8 loss at Maryland-Baltimore County (April 11) in their last game. A 14-9 winner at home over Kent State (April 6) in its most recent MAC game, Akron is 2-5 on the road in 2025 and has dropped two in a row, including a 10-8 decision at Detroit Mercy (March 30). Individually, Sienna Hinchcliffe leads the way with 55 points on 43 goals and 12 assists with three teammates, Noelle Boyd (27), Katie Baumer (29), and Kellen Fletcher (20), each having scored 20+ goals. Defensively, Hannah Sanders leads the way with 105 saves, a 44.1 save percentage, and a 10.27 goals-against average.

TOP SCORERS MEETING
The game between Eastern and Akron will feature the top two scorers in the MAC with EMU's Mackenzie Blackwell leading the league with 53 goals (3.79 per game) while Sienna Hinchcliffe sits second with 43 goals (3.07). The duo also ranks as the top two in the league in points with Blackwell first at 58 points and 4.14 per game and Hinchcliffe second with 55 and 3.93 per game.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. ZIPS
Eastern is 1-1 all-time against Akron with the visiting team winning both games in one-goal decisions. The Zips won the first meeting, 10-9, in Ypsilanti, April 22, 2023, before the Eagles won, 10-9, last year in Akron (March 24, 2024).

IN THE STANDINGS: LOG JAM
With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the race for the MAC title is still no closer to being decided as four teams currently have three conference wins. Akron (at 3-2 Eastern) and Robert Morris (host 1-3 Kent State) are tied at the top of the standings with a 3-1 record in MAC play while the Eagles (host 3-1 Akron) and Central Michigan (off) are just behind them with 3-2 records. Detroit Mercy (2-2) is still in the mix and will play at Youngstown State (0-4) this week.

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS!
In the latest MAC statistical standings, Eastern leads the league in three team categories with two players pacing the conference in five. As a team, the Eagles lead the way in saves percentage (.502), goals-against average (10.5), and draw controls (13.86). Individually, Mackenzie Blackwell leads the way in three categories, including goals per game (3.79), points per game (4.14), and shots per game (7.93), while Maddie Porter tops the lists in both ground balls per game (4.36) and save percentage (.505).

NATIONALLY KNOWN • TEAM
As a team, Eastern ranks among the top 50 in the NCAA in four categories, led by its ninth-place standing in saves percentage (.502). The Eagles also stand 16th in fewest fouls committed per game (10.07), 36th in goals-against average (10.50), and 39th in ground balls per game (17.50).

NATIONALLY KNOWN • INDIVIDUAL
Three Eagles currently rank among the top 50 nationally with Maddie Porter leading the way with four rankings. Porter currently stands first in ground balls (4.36), seventh in saves per game (10.50), eighth in save percentage (.505), and 32nd in goals-against average (10.47). Mackenzie Blackwell appears in three categories, including 15th in goals per game (3.79), 18th in shots per game (7.93), and 50th in points per game (4.14), while Emerson Henry is 41st in draw controls per game (5.71).

STAYING ACTIVE
Through games played April 13, two Eagles are ranked among the top 50 in several career categories among active players nationally with Mackenzie Blackwell appearing in four and Maddie Porter in three. Blackwell ranks 12th in goals per game (3.07), 29th in draw controls per game (4.59), 38th in total goals (141), and 49th in points per game (3.33) while Porter ranks first in ground balls per game (4.28), 26th in total ground balls (124), and 41st in total saves (277). Along with ranking first in ground balls among all NCAA Division I players, she ranks fifth overall when including all three divisions.

BLACKWELL'S VINYL STORE
Mackenzie Blackwell is no stranger to program records as she entered the season as the record holder in seven different categories, all of which she set in 2024. Following the two games played last week, Blackwell reset the standard in four categories to bring her total to five records this season:
» 53 goals (was 49)
» 12 hat tricks (was 10)
» 58 points (was 54)
» 111 shots (was 89; broke two weeks ago)
» 74 shots on goal (was 72)

CHASING VINYL
Two other Eagles are on the hunt for program records and could secure this week. Maddie Porter has collected 61 ground balls, leaving her two away from her record 63 scoops in 2024, while Emerson Henry has won 80 draw controls, leaving her three away from tying the freshman record (83, Mackenzie Blackwell, 2023) and 14 from tying the single season record (94, Blackwell, 2024).

MORE MILESTONES
Maddie Porter is closing in on a pair of saves milestones. For the season, she has tallied 147 to break her own record of 132 from last year, leaving her three away from becoming the first EMU goalkeeper to stop 150+ in a season. On a career level, she has stopped 279 shots, putting her 21 saves away from 300.

FASHION TREND
Mackenzie Blackwell added two more hat tricks to her total last week, including her 11th of the season (vs. Oregon) to break her own single-season record and her 12th (at Kent State) to add to the mark, to give her hat tricks in 12-of-14 games. With those two additions, the team has tallied 23 hat tricks this year, which breaks the single-season program record of 20 recorded last year. Along with Blackwell (12), the other Eagles that have recorded a hat trick this year include Katheryn Wilson (five), Tracy Grollman (two), Abby Alderman, Payton Bloedow, Kyleigh Dill, and Emerson Henry. Wilson added her fifth of the year in the game with Oregon while Alderman added her name to the list with three at Kent State.

MORE THAN HATS
Mackenzie Blackwell has played in all 46 games in program history and has tallied a school record 141 goals, 79 more than any other EMU player. Through the game at Kent State (April 13), Blackwell has recorded a hat trick in 12-of-14 games played in 2025 and 29-of-46 career games (63.0 percent). Additionally, she has scored multiple goals in 37-of-46 games (80.4 percent) while scoring at least one goal in 41-of-46 games (89.1 percent).

GROLLMAN GETS 6
Tracy Grollman had a career day at Kent State (April 13) as she finished with six points on two goals and four assists in the win. The six points rank as the seventh-most in single-game history at EMU while tying for the fifth-most against a MAC foe while her four helpers tied for the second-most in a game and against a MAC foe. The four assists tied her career high, which she set last year at Delaware State (Feb. 28, 2024).

DOWN-TO ABBY
Entering the game at Kent State (April 13), Abby Alderman had tallied eight goals with one goal scored in eight different contests. Against the Golden Flashes, she registered her first hat trick of the season with one of her goals coming while EMU was down a player. Her woman-down goal is the third scored by an Eagle player this year and ties for the season record for all games and MAC games played with Payton Bloedow, who scored one woman-down goal each this year against Presbyterian (Feb. 25) and Youngstown State (March 23).

PORTER'S ICE CREAM PARLOR
Maddie Porter is no stranger to scooping up ground balls as the sophomore has 61 this year, which leads the nation and is two away from her single-season record of 63 set last year. In the game at Kent State (April 13), Porter was credited with 10 ground balls, which ranks as the second-highest total in a game in EMU history and in a MAC contest behind the 11 she collected last year at Detroit Mercy (April 7, 2024). Porter, who is averaging 4.36 scoops per game, has recorded at least four in each of the last four games and has posted seven or more in four games in 2025.

BRICK WALL
In the game at Kent State (April 13), Maddie Porter recorded 14 saves, marking her highest total in a league game this year and the second-highest of the season behind the 18 registered in the season-opening game with San Diego State (Feb. 9). On a single-game basis, her 14 stops tied for the third-highest in program history and marked the seventh time she has recorded at least 11 saves this season. When playing against MAC foes, her 14 saves stand as program record and marked the fourth time this year she has posted nine or more saves in a game. She currently occupies the top two spots in MAC games after posting 13 at Robert Morris, March 16.

MILESTONE MOMENTS
Two of the goals scored at Kent State went into the books as milestones for the program. First, Mackenzie Blackwell's fifth goal of the game (4:37 to play in the second) stands as the 250th goal scored in a road game in program history. Emerson Henry, who assisted on the Blackwell goal, scored the next goal (0:04 remaining in the second), to post the 100th goal in a road MAC contest for EMU.

LIMITING GOALS
In its first two years, Eastern played 14 MAC games and held an opponent to 10 or fewer goals in two of those contests (.143) with both coming last year. This year, the Eagles have played five games and held its MAC foe to 10 or fewer goals in all five, including eight or fewer in all three home games played.

CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT
Defensively, the Eagles have allowed 147 goals this season, an average of 10.5 per game, which is 20 fewer than they did last year through 14 games (167). At the current rate, the defense in on pace to allow 168 goals, which would better the school record by 23 goals (191 in 2024).

LIMBO CONTEST
The game with Youngstown State (March 23) was not all about offense as the Eagles limited the Penguins to six goals, the lowest permitted in a MAC contest in program history and the second-lowest allowed to any opponent this season behind the four allowed to Butler (March 7) in EMU's 10-4 road win. In all games played, the previous record was five in a 16-5 win at Howard, Feb. 25, 2024, while the previous low for a MAC opponent was nine in Eastern's 12-9 win at Detroit Mercy (April 7, 2024) last season.

PITCHING SHUTOUTS
A big part of the record performance was the team's play in the second half as the Penguins scored just one goal, which came with 13:09 to play in the third. The Eagles, who shut out YSU in the final 28:09 of the game, have shut out an opponent in a single quarter seven times this year and have done so in back-to-back weeks after holding Robert Morris scoreless in the first quarter (March 16). All told, the seven shutout quarters are the most in a single season for the program after posting five in 2024 and none in 2023, the team's inaugural season.

ONE-DERFUL PLAY
For the second consecutive game and third time this season, the Eagles held an opponent to a record-low one goal in a single half of play as Youngstown State scored once in the second half (March 23). The defensive performance followed a similar showing in the first half at Robert Morris (March 16) when the Eagles allowed just one goal in the second quarter. The single goal allowed to the Penguins marked the fourth time in program history and the third time this season the Eagles have limited their opponent to a single goal in one half of play with the first coming at Butler (March 7) with one goal allowed in the second half. The first came just over one year earlier when the Eagles held Butler to one goal in the opening half in Ypsilanti (March 15, 2024).

ROOKIE SCORING
Freshman Stella Burke not only tallied her first collegiate goal in the game with Youngstown State (March 23), but she also scored twice for her first multiple-point game as well. She is the fourth freshman to record her first career goal this season following Katheryn Wilson (four) and Emerson Henry (one) against San Diego State (Feb. 9) and Sydney Howard (one) at Presbyterian (Feb. 25).

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.

ON THE HORIZON
With the MAC slate behind them, the Eagles will turn their attention to their regular season finale as Eastern will play host to Marquette University Friday, April 25, at noon on Scicluna Field. The game, which will stream live on ESPN+, will also be Senior Day for Savannah Berner, Tracy Grollman, Avery Schwab, and Laurelle Weisbrod, who will be recognized in a ceremony following the contest.

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

Abby Alderman

Savannah Berner

Mackenzie Blackwell

Payton Bloedow

Samantha Borgert

Stella Burke

Kelsea Dague

Kyleigh Dill

Tracy Grollman

Emerson Henry

Sydney Howard

Roya Khaleeli

Maddy Porter

Avery Schwab

Laurelle Weisbrod

Katheryn Wilson

Annika Wozney

Eastern Michigan Athletics