Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, April 2
Ypsilanti, Mich.
10 a.m.
Eastern Michigan University
5-6
5
at
17
Michigan
8-4
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Michigan
1
2
1
1
5
Michigan
6
4
1
6
17
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Blackwell Scores Hat Trick as EMU Falls to No. 16 Michigan
4/2/2025 2:15:00 PM | Lacrosse
Eastern will look to rebound at home Sunday against Detroit Mercy in a big MAC game
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team dropped a 17-5 decision to No. 16 University of Michigan Wednesday morning, April 2, at the EMU Indoor Practice Facility in Ypsilanti. The Eagles (5-6), playing as the visitors in their own venue, were led by another hat trick from Mackenzie Blackwell as the nationally-ranked Wolverines (8-5) scored six goals each in the first and fourth quarters to take the win. The game, originally scheduled to be played at U-M Lacrosse Stadium in Ann Arbor, was moved to EMU because of severe weather in the area. Despite the change of location, the Wolverines were still listed as the home team in the contest.
How It Happened
The Wolverines jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before the Eagles ended the run as Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern) took a pass from Tracy Grollman (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School) and scored on the woman-advantage to make it 4-1. Michigan would add two more goals to make it 6-1 at the end of the first quarter.
The Eagles clawed back into the contest with a pair of goals from Blackwell in the early stages of the quarter, but U-M would score four more times in the stanza to send the game into the halftime break, 10-3, in favor of the Wolverines. Blackwell's first goal in the quarter came on a free-position shot with 13:39 to play in the second before she scored on the woman-up advantage at 10:34 on a pass from Avery Schwab (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin-Scioto) to complete her 26th career hat trick.
Following the break, both teams scored just once each to send the game into the fourth quarter at 11-4. The Eagles scored first in the third as Kendall Nagle (Sudlersville, Md./Queen Anne's County) scored her second of the season before the Wolverines answered back just over one minute later.
In the fourth quarter, the Wolverines scored five consecutive goals to take a 16-4 lead with 4:55 to play before Stella Burke (Peterborough, Ontario/St. Peter's Catholic Secondary) scored a free-position goal while on the woman-up advantage to make it 16-5 before U-M added a late goal to bring about the 17-5 final.
Game Notes
» Mackenzie Blackwell tallied three goals for her ninth hat trick in 11 games played this year while pushing her career total to 26. Blackwell has now scored at least one goal in 38-of-43 career games (88.4 percent) and multiple goals scored in 34-of-43 (79.1).
» Mackenzie Blackwell has now scored 125 career goals in program history with her three against Michigan. Additionally, two of those scores came on the woman-up advantage, marking her 25th and 26th career woman-up goals, easily the most in program history ahead of Sydney Lawrence (2023-24), who had eight.
» Stella Burke found the back of the net for the third consecutive game after being held scoreless in her first five games. The freshman, who scored on a free-position shot while EMU was a woman-up, opened her scoring with two goals at home against Youngstown State, March 23, before adding one at Central Michigan, March 30.
» Maddie Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) finished the game with seven saves and a team-high four ground balls. Porter, who entered the game with 99 career ground balls, is now the first player in EMU history with 100+ (103).
» Both teams recorded 18 ground balls in the game with Payton Bloedow (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake/Stony Brook) posting three. Her three scoops stand as a career high, surpassing the two she recorded twice previously with the last coming against Youngstown State.
Team Notes
» Eastern fell to 5-6 overall while Michigan improved to 8-4. U-M holds a 3-0 lead in the all-time series.
» In the series, the Eagles hosted the Wolverines (indoors, 2024), played at Michigan (outdoors, 2023), and played as the visitors in their own facility against the Wolverines (2025).
» The five goals scored by the Eagles are the most in the series, surpassing the four tallied in last year's 20-4 loss to the then-No. 5 Wolverines. The series opened in 2023 with a 16-3 loss at then-No. 17 Michigan.
» The game was played at EMU's Indoor Practice Facility with Michigan remaining the home team. It marked the second consecutive year the Eagles and Wolverines played at the IPF after rain forced a venue change. Last season, EMU was to host U-M in the "Grow Our Game" event at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit.
Up Next
The Eagles return to action at home Sunday, April 6, with an 11 a.m. game at Scicluna Field against visiting University of Detroit Mercy. The game, which will be streamed live on ESPN+, will see the Eagles (5-6, 1-2 MAC) looking to keep pace with the Titans (5-5, 2-0 MAC) in the conference standings at the half-way point in the league schedule.
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.
How It Happened
The Wolverines jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before the Eagles ended the run as Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern) took a pass from Tracy Grollman (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School) and scored on the woman-advantage to make it 4-1. Michigan would add two more goals to make it 6-1 at the end of the first quarter.
The Eagles clawed back into the contest with a pair of goals from Blackwell in the early stages of the quarter, but U-M would score four more times in the stanza to send the game into the halftime break, 10-3, in favor of the Wolverines. Blackwell's first goal in the quarter came on a free-position shot with 13:39 to play in the second before she scored on the woman-up advantage at 10:34 on a pass from Avery Schwab (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin-Scioto) to complete her 26th career hat trick.
Following the break, both teams scored just once each to send the game into the fourth quarter at 11-4. The Eagles scored first in the third as Kendall Nagle (Sudlersville, Md./Queen Anne's County) scored her second of the season before the Wolverines answered back just over one minute later.
In the fourth quarter, the Wolverines scored five consecutive goals to take a 16-4 lead with 4:55 to play before Stella Burke (Peterborough, Ontario/St. Peter's Catholic Secondary) scored a free-position goal while on the woman-up advantage to make it 16-5 before U-M added a late goal to bring about the 17-5 final.
Game Notes
» Mackenzie Blackwell tallied three goals for her ninth hat trick in 11 games played this year while pushing her career total to 26. Blackwell has now scored at least one goal in 38-of-43 career games (88.4 percent) and multiple goals scored in 34-of-43 (79.1).
» Mackenzie Blackwell has now scored 125 career goals in program history with her three against Michigan. Additionally, two of those scores came on the woman-up advantage, marking her 25th and 26th career woman-up goals, easily the most in program history ahead of Sydney Lawrence (2023-24), who had eight.
» Stella Burke found the back of the net for the third consecutive game after being held scoreless in her first five games. The freshman, who scored on a free-position shot while EMU was a woman-up, opened her scoring with two goals at home against Youngstown State, March 23, before adding one at Central Michigan, March 30.
» Maddie Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) finished the game with seven saves and a team-high four ground balls. Porter, who entered the game with 99 career ground balls, is now the first player in EMU history with 100+ (103).
» Both teams recorded 18 ground balls in the game with Payton Bloedow (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake/Stony Brook) posting three. Her three scoops stand as a career high, surpassing the two she recorded twice previously with the last coming against Youngstown State.
Team Notes
» Eastern fell to 5-6 overall while Michigan improved to 8-4. U-M holds a 3-0 lead in the all-time series.
» In the series, the Eagles hosted the Wolverines (indoors, 2024), played at Michigan (outdoors, 2023), and played as the visitors in their own facility against the Wolverines (2025).
» The five goals scored by the Eagles are the most in the series, surpassing the four tallied in last year's 20-4 loss to the then-No. 5 Wolverines. The series opened in 2023 with a 16-3 loss at then-No. 17 Michigan.
» The game was played at EMU's Indoor Practice Facility with Michigan remaining the home team. It marked the second consecutive year the Eagles and Wolverines played at the IPF after rain forced a venue change. Last season, EMU was to host U-M in the "Grow Our Game" event at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit.
Up Next
The Eagles return to action at home Sunday, April 6, with an 11 a.m. game at Scicluna Field against visiting University of Detroit Mercy. The game, which will be streamed live on ESPN+, will see the Eagles (5-6, 1-2 MAC) looking to keep pace with the Titans (5-5, 2-0 MAC) in the conference standings at the half-way point in the league schedule.
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.
Team Stats
EMU
U-M
Shots
21
32
Turnovers
16
12
Caused Turnovers
6
11
Draw Controls
7
17
Free-Position Shots
2
4
Ground Balls
18
18
Game Leaders
Players
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
0
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
A
/ Lacrosse
M
/ LacrosseA
/ LacrosseA
/ Lacrosse
M
/ LacrosseM
/ Lacrosse
G
/ Lacrosse
A
/ LacrosseLacrosse Updates EMU's Championship Trophy
Friday, May 02
Lacrosse Falls to Marquette on Senior Day
Friday, April 25
EMU Defeats Akron, 16-12, to Punch Ticket to MAC Tournament
Sunday, April 20
Ainsley McLain Talks about Pediatric Cancer
Tuesday, April 08