Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, February 18
Buffalo, N.Y.
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
3-3, 0-0
12
at
19
Canisius
4-0, 0-0
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Mich.
1
4
4
3
12
Canisius
6
4
4
5
19
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Two Eagles Net Hat Tricks in Road Loss at Canisius
2/18/2026 6:03:00 PM | Lacrosse
Amber Alderman scored a career-high four goals in the loss
BUFFALO, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) -- Amber Alderman netted a career-high four goals and Mackenzie Blackwell recorded her 34th career hat trick, but it was not enough as the Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team dropped a 19-12 road decision at Canisius University, Feb. 18, at Demske Sports Complex in rainy Buffalo, N.Y. The Eagles (3-2) have been a team of two cities so far in 2026 with all three wins at home and both losses on the road while Golden Griffins (3-0) remained undefeated this season.
How It Happened
Eastern got the scoring started on its first possession of the game as Kelsea Dague (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) found the net once again to stake the Eagles to an early 1-0 lead. The hosts, however, would go on to score six consecutive goals to end the quarter with Canisius on top, 6-1.
Canisius continued its scoring run with three more goals to open the second quarter and take a 9-1 lead before the Eagles got on the board as Am. Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) found the back of the cage with 8:56 to play. Eastern made it two consecutive goals at 4:19 as Tracy Grollman (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School) scored with Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern) following at 3:20 with a free-position goal to cut the deficit to five (9-4). The hosts added one more before Am. Alderman scored with 13 seconds to play off a pass from Blackwell, sending the game into the halftime break with the Eagles trailing, 10-5.
The Golden Griffins scored to open the third quarter to increase their lead back to six goals before the Eagles responded 25 seconds later as Blackwell scored her second of the game. After the hosts made it 12-6 with 12:07 to play, Eastern scored three consecutive goals with Am. Alderman scoring twice, first from a pass from Grollman before netting her fourth of the day unassisted to record only her second career hat trick and her first since the 2023 season. Blackwell followed to complete her hat trick and cut the deficit to three goals with 7:12 to play, but the hosts would go on to add two more to make it 14-9 heading into the fourth.
Canisius once again went on a run to open the stanza, this time scoring four consecutive goals to reclaim a nine-goal cushion with 9:25 to play. Grollman ended the six-goal run with her second of the day before Kyleigh Dill (Dover, Del./Dover) tallied her first from an assist from Abby Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) and Dague netted her second for a three-goal run that brought the visitors back to within six with 2:30 to play. The Golden Griffins added one more goal with 1:53 to play to bring about the 19-12 final.
Individual Notes
» Amber Alderman had a career game as she poured in four goals, surpassing her previous career-best of three goals scored in her freshman season at Youngstown State (April 8, 2023). Alderman, who entered the game with one goal on the season, tallied her fifth career game with multiple goals and her first since May 2, 2024, when she scored two in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament against Robert Morris.
» Amber Alderman, who scored her four goals on four shots, tallied four points in the game to bring her career total to 53. She is now the sixth player in program history to surpass 50 points in a career.
» Mackenzie Blackwell got back into the scoring column with her 34th career hat trick while adding one assist as well for four points. Blackwell scored two of her goals in free-position shots, which tied for the second-highest total in a single game in program history and marked the second time she accomplished the feat this season after first doing so against Butler.
» Mackenzie Blackwell, who added a season-best eight draw controls, recorded one assist in the game to extend her career-long streak to four consecutive games with at least one helper. She has now dished six assists in 2026, which equals her season-high total of six recorded in 17 games played last year.
» Tracy Grollman recorded three points on two goals and one assist to mark her first multiple-goal game of 2026. Her assist gave her 40 in her career and leaves her five away from tying Avery Schwab (2023-25) for the program record at 45. Additionally, Grollman brought her career points total to 96, leaving her four away from becoming only the second Eagle to record 100+ points in a career behind Mackenzie Blackwell, who has recorded 182.
» Kelsea Dague, who was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week one day prior, scored two goals to give her eight in the last three games. She has scored all her goals this year in the past three contests after sitting out the 2025 season with an injury.
» Karly Low (Owen Sound, Ontario/Owen Sound District Secondary), the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Week, and Haley Hodak (Severn, Md./Old Mill) both recorded two ground balls and two caused turnovers. For Low, it marked the fourth time in five games this year she has recorded at least two caused turnovers and her third time with at least two in each category in the same game while Hodak made it back-to-back games with two takeaways, bringing her total to three this year after recording four total in her first three seasons.
» Culin (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) recorded the first stats of her collegiate career as she was credited with two draw controls and two shots.
» Maddy Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) made six saves in the game to bring her career total to 351. She is now the first Eagle to reach the milestone mark.
Team Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 3-2 overall while the Golden Griffins improved to 3-0.
» Eastern is now 1-1 all-time against Canisius with both teams winning on their home fields.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan returns to action on the road Sunday, Feb. 22, when they visit Pape Field in Eugene, Ore., to face the Ducks of the University of Oregon. The game is slated to start at 12 p.m. PT (3 p.m. ET) and will stream live on Big Ten Network Plus (B1G+).
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
Eastern got the scoring started on its first possession of the game as Kelsea Dague (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) found the net once again to stake the Eagles to an early 1-0 lead. The hosts, however, would go on to score six consecutive goals to end the quarter with Canisius on top, 6-1.
Canisius continued its scoring run with three more goals to open the second quarter and take a 9-1 lead before the Eagles got on the board as Am. Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) found the back of the cage with 8:56 to play. Eastern made it two consecutive goals at 4:19 as Tracy Grollman (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School) scored with Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern) following at 3:20 with a free-position goal to cut the deficit to five (9-4). The hosts added one more before Am. Alderman scored with 13 seconds to play off a pass from Blackwell, sending the game into the halftime break with the Eagles trailing, 10-5.
The Golden Griffins scored to open the third quarter to increase their lead back to six goals before the Eagles responded 25 seconds later as Blackwell scored her second of the game. After the hosts made it 12-6 with 12:07 to play, Eastern scored three consecutive goals with Am. Alderman scoring twice, first from a pass from Grollman before netting her fourth of the day unassisted to record only her second career hat trick and her first since the 2023 season. Blackwell followed to complete her hat trick and cut the deficit to three goals with 7:12 to play, but the hosts would go on to add two more to make it 14-9 heading into the fourth.
Canisius once again went on a run to open the stanza, this time scoring four consecutive goals to reclaim a nine-goal cushion with 9:25 to play. Grollman ended the six-goal run with her second of the day before Kyleigh Dill (Dover, Del./Dover) tallied her first from an assist from Abby Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) and Dague netted her second for a three-goal run that brought the visitors back to within six with 2:30 to play. The Golden Griffins added one more goal with 1:53 to play to bring about the 19-12 final.
Individual Notes
» Amber Alderman had a career game as she poured in four goals, surpassing her previous career-best of three goals scored in her freshman season at Youngstown State (April 8, 2023). Alderman, who entered the game with one goal on the season, tallied her fifth career game with multiple goals and her first since May 2, 2024, when she scored two in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament against Robert Morris.
» Amber Alderman, who scored her four goals on four shots, tallied four points in the game to bring her career total to 53. She is now the sixth player in program history to surpass 50 points in a career.
» Mackenzie Blackwell got back into the scoring column with her 34th career hat trick while adding one assist as well for four points. Blackwell scored two of her goals in free-position shots, which tied for the second-highest total in a single game in program history and marked the second time she accomplished the feat this season after first doing so against Butler.
» Mackenzie Blackwell, who added a season-best eight draw controls, recorded one assist in the game to extend her career-long streak to four consecutive games with at least one helper. She has now dished six assists in 2026, which equals her season-high total of six recorded in 17 games played last year.
» Tracy Grollman recorded three points on two goals and one assist to mark her first multiple-goal game of 2026. Her assist gave her 40 in her career and leaves her five away from tying Avery Schwab (2023-25) for the program record at 45. Additionally, Grollman brought her career points total to 96, leaving her four away from becoming only the second Eagle to record 100+ points in a career behind Mackenzie Blackwell, who has recorded 182.
» Kelsea Dague, who was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week one day prior, scored two goals to give her eight in the last three games. She has scored all her goals this year in the past three contests after sitting out the 2025 season with an injury.
» Karly Low (Owen Sound, Ontario/Owen Sound District Secondary), the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Week, and Haley Hodak (Severn, Md./Old Mill) both recorded two ground balls and two caused turnovers. For Low, it marked the fourth time in five games this year she has recorded at least two caused turnovers and her third time with at least two in each category in the same game while Hodak made it back-to-back games with two takeaways, bringing her total to three this year after recording four total in her first three seasons.
» Culin (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) recorded the first stats of her collegiate career as she was credited with two draw controls and two shots.
» Maddy Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) made six saves in the game to bring her career total to 351. She is now the first Eagle to reach the milestone mark.
Team Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 3-2 overall while the Golden Griffins improved to 3-0.
» Eastern is now 1-1 all-time against Canisius with both teams winning on their home fields.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan returns to action on the road Sunday, Feb. 22, when they visit Pape Field in Eugene, Ore., to face the Ducks of the University of Oregon. The game is slated to start at 12 p.m. PT (3 p.m. ET) and will stream live on Big Ten Network Plus (B1G+).
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
EASTERN
CANISIUS
Shots
28
37
Turnovers
11
10
Caused Turnovers
5
7
Draw Controls
15
18
Free-Position Shots
3
4
Ground Balls
8
10
Game Leaders
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-60
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-120
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ LacrosseM/A
/ LacrosseA
/ LacrosseM
/ Lacrosse
A
/ LacrosseA
/ Lacrosse
D/M
/ Lacrosse
G
/ Lacrosse
A
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