Eagles Take Flight to Face Oregon Sunday

GAME #6 \| at OREGON
Date	Sunday, Feb. 22 \| 12 p.m. PT (3 p.m. ET)
Venue	Pape Field \| Eugene, Ore.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	Live Statistics \| Watch (B1G+)
Social Media	Instagram: @emu_Lacrosse \| Twitter: @EMU_Lacrosse

EUGENE, Ore. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team will head west this weekend for its second of four consecutive road games as the Eagles are set to face the University of Oregon Ducks at Pepe Field in Eugene, Ore., Sunday, Feb. 22, in a 12 p.m. PT (3 p.m. ET) contest that will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus (B1G+). The Eagles (3-2) and Ducks (3-1) are coming off losses in their most recent games with Eastern dropping a 19-12 decision at Canisius University, Feb. 18, and Oregon falling at home to the University of California, 14-9, Feb. 19.

OPENING DRAWS
» Eastern is 3-2 in 2026 and coming off a 19-12 loss at Canisius (Feb. 18), which snapped a three-game winning streak. The 3-2 record ties the 2025 team for the best five-game start in program history and a win at Oregon would keep pace with last year's squad for the best record through six games at 4-2.
» The win over Xavier (Feb. 14) extended EMU's home winning streak to three games and tied the program record set twice before. The first instance came with the final game of 2023 and the first two home contests of 2024 with the second consisting of three consecutive wins in 2025.
» Amber Alderman is coming off a career day at Canisius (Feb. 18) where she scored a career-high four goals on four shots. Alderman, who entered the game with two points on one goal and one assist in 2026, scored her first hat trick since her freshman season at Youngstown State (April 8, 2023) and recorded just her fifth career multiple-goal game.
» Kelsea Dague scored hat tricks against Lindenwood (Feb. 11) and Xavier (Feb. 14) for her first goals since the 2024 season (injured in 2025) and added two more at Canisius. Following the game with the Musketeers, she was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week and added the MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week honor one day later.
» Mackenzie Blackwell has scored 22 points this year on 16 goals and a career-high-tying six assists. The MAC leader in goals and points, Blackwell ranks second nationally in goals scored and fourth in total points (as of Feb. 19). She also ranks 37th nationally in shots per game (7.20).
» Along with Kelsea Dague (offense), two other Eagles were honored by the conference, Feb. 16, with Karly Low named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week and Maddy Porter the MAC Goalkeeper of the Week.
» Maddy Porter recorded six saves at Canisius to bring her career total to 351, the most in program history. She also is nearing a ground ball milestone as she needs just one more to reach 150 for her career. Among active NCAA Division I players, her career totals rank third and 10th, respectively, while her 4.14 ground balls per game leads the way.
» Eastern is set to play 16 regular season games in 2026 with eight each being played at home and on the road. The schedule also features three games against teams from a 'Power 4' conference, including road games at Oregon (Big Ten) and Vanderbilt (SEC) and a home game with Cincinnati (Big 12).
» The Eagles will face four opponents for the first time in program history with games played at home and two on the road. The newcomers to the schedule include Lindenwood, Austin Peay, Vanderbilt, and UMass, who is the newest member of the MAC.
» Five Eagles were named captains for the 2026 season, including Mackenzie Blackwell, Samantha Borgert, Kelsey Dague, Maddy Porter, and Annika Wozney.
» The team will feature 12 seniors, including nine that were part of the program's first major signing class in 2022. The group will be honored in Senior Day festivities following the game with Robert Morris, April 18.
» The coaching staff also welcomed two new faces as Irene Carlquist and Ty McGuire were hired as assistant coaches. Carlquist, most recently the head coach at Lees-McRae, will work with the goalkeepers, while McGuire, the former head coach of the men's program at Concordia-Ann Arbor, will work with the defense.
» Maddie Dugan is in her second season guiding the Eagles. The 2024 MAC Coach of the Year at Detroit Mercy, Dugan guided the Eagles to a share of the MAC regular season crown in 2025, the first title in program history.

QUICK RECAP: EAGLES FALL IN BUFFALO
Eastern dropped a 19-12 contest at Canisius (Feb. 18) to see its three-game losing streak come to an end and fall to 0-2 on the road in 2026. Amber Alderman scored a career-high four goals while Mackenzie Blackwell netted her 34th career hat trick to pace the offense. Karly Low and Haley Hodak were credited with two caused turnovers and two ground balls each for the third consecutive game while Tracy Grollman added three points on two goals and one assist to bring her career total to 96 points, just four away from becoming only the second player in EMU history to surpass 100 career points.

FEELING HONORED
Following games played last weekend (Feb. 15), three members of the team were selected for Mid-American Conference weekly honors with Kelsea Dague being named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week, Karly Low the MAC Defensive Player of the Week, and Maddy Porter the MAC Goalkeeper of the Week.
» Dague scored seven points on six goals and one assist in two games with each of those her first since the 2024 season after sitting out the 2025 campaign with an injury. She also scored her first two hat tricks since April 14, 2024, when she scored four against Central Michigan at home.
» Low collected seven ground balls and four caused turnovers in two games, including a career-high five ground balls against Xavier, in a pair of wins. In the two games, the Eagles limited the visitors to 18 total goals, including just seven to Xavier.
» Porter stopped 18 shots and grabbed 10 ground balls, four caused turnovers, and the first draw control of her career. She limited Xavier to just seven goals, including two in the second half and zero in the final 12:47 of the game.

ADDING ANOTHER
Not only was Kelsea Dague named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week (Feb. 16), but she also was selected as the MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week (Feb. 20). Dague was selected among all female student-athletes currently in competition and was eligible by maintaining at least a 3.0 grade-point average while excelling athletically. She is the third player in program history to earn the weekly academic honor after Mackenzie Blackwell (April 9, 2025) and Tracy Grollman (April 22, 2025) earned the first two last year.

BEST START
Despite the loss at Canisius (Feb. 18), Eastern is off to its best start in program history at 3-2, a mark that is shared with the 2025 team. Last year, the Eagles opened the year 0-2 before running off four consecutive wins for a 4-2 start and the longest winning streak in program history.

DEFENDING HOME TURF
The Eagles played three home games in seven days and emerged with a perfect 3-0 record. The three consecutive wins broke the record for best home start after the 2024 team opened at 2-0 before falling to visiting No. 5 Michigan (20-4). Eastern will look to extend its home winning streak March 8 when Cincinnati comes to town.

HOME STREAKING
With the win over Xavier (Feb. 14), the Eagles recorded their third consecutive home win to tie the record set twice previously and just once prior in the same season. The first streak began with the final game of the 2023 season, a 17-12 defeat of Detroit Mercy, and continued through the first two home games of 2024, which included a 15-8 win over Butler and 12-11 defeat of Kent State. Last year, the Eagles won three in a row at home with wins over Canisius (12-10), Youngstown State (19-6), and Detroit Mercy (13-8).

ADDING TO THE STREAK?
While Eastern will have to wait until March to try and extend its home winning streak, it can tie the record for consecutive wins overall with a victory at Canisius. A win for the Eagles over the Golden Griffins would give Eastern four consecutive wins for just the second time in program history after the 2025 squad set the mark. After starting the year 0-2, the Eagles went on the road and defeated Presbyterian (19-10) and Gardner-Webb (16-6) before returning home to hand Canisius a 12-10 setback. The streak concluded with a 10-4 win at Butler as the Eagles fell at Cincinnati two days later, 13-9.

KNOW THE FOE: OREGON
The Ducks are 3-1 on the year and saw their three-game winning streak to open the season end, Feb. 19, in a 14-9 home loss to visiting California. Oregon, who posted wins over Arizona State (12-11 OT), Fairleigh Dickinson (16-5) and San Diego State (12-10), is led by a pair of 10-goal scorers in Anna Simmons and Emma Ing while Simmons is one of six Ducks that have dished three assists already this season. Defensively, three goalkeepers have been used with Kate Sheilds earning the start in cage three times and Francesca Viteritti one. Shields leads the way with 24 saves and a goals-against average of 8.12 per game.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. DUCKS
Eastern and Oregon are set to meet for the second time after the Ducks grabbed a 13-11 road win in Ypsilanti last year (April 11, 2025) at Scicluna Field. The Eagles built a 9-5 halftime lead, but the Ducks went on a 6-1 scoring run in the third to take an 11-10 lead into the fourth before hanging on for the 13-11 win. Mackenzie Blackwell and Katheryn Wilson both recorded hat tricks for the Eagles in the game.

TAKING ON • B1G
The Eagles are set to play a member of the Big Ten for the fifth time and are looking for their first win against the conference. Eastern is 0-3 all-time against neighbor Michigan and 0-1 against Oregon.

NEAR THE TOP OF THE (COLLEGIATE) WORLD
Mackenzie Blackwell enters the weekend ranked among the best in the NCAA in scoring and points as she ranks in the top 10 nationally in both goals scored and total points collected. Through five games, Blackwell has scored 16 goals and added six assists for 22 points. Her 16 goals currently rank second in Division I while her 22 points are fourth. Additionally, she is ranked among the top 10 in six statistical categories in the MAC, including first in goals and points, sixth in draw controls (3.8) and seventh in goals per game (3.2), points per game (4.4), and shots per game (7.20).

PORTER ON THE RISE
Maddy Porter also ranks highly in three national categories, including saves, where her 40 stops are third in NCAA Division I. Porter also ranks 35th in ground balls per game (3.0) and 39th in saves per game (8.0). The junior goalkeeper is among the top 10 in the MAC in five areas, including first in saves, third in saves per game, fourth in ground balls per game, fifth in save percentage (.381), and seventh in goals-against average (13.0).

LOW NATIONALLY RANKED
Karly Low has added her name to the national top 50 in caused turnovers per game as the reining MAC Defensive Player of the Week sits 44th in caused turnovers per game with 2.0 per contest, which also ranks second in the MAC. Additionally, she is 10th in the conference in ground balls per game at 2.6.

FEELING ACTIVE • NCAA CAREER LIST
Each year, the NCAA compiles a list of current players in each division and where they rank in statistical categories based upon their career totals with two Eagles highly ranked once again:
Mackenzie Blackwell
» 163 goals = 7th in NCAA Division I
» 3.02 goals/game = 14th in NCAA Division I
» 182 points = 13th in NCAA Division I
» 3.37 points/game = 20th in NCAA Division I
» 4.57 draw controls/game = 14th in NCAA Division I
Maddy Porter
» 4.03 ground balls/game= 1st in NCAA Division I
» 149 ground balls = 3rd in NCAA Division I
» 351 saves = 9th in NCAA Division I

MORE ON THE LIST
Two more Eagles also rank among the top 10 in the MAC statistically through games played Feb. 19. Emerson Henry ranks eighth in the MAC in draw controls per game with 3.0 per contest while Payton Bloedow is 10th in caused turnovers per game at 1.6.

NATIONALLY KNOWN • TEAM RANKINGS
As a team, Eastern is among the top 50 in three statistical categories, including 16th in ground balls per game (19.2), 23rd in caused turnovers per game (10.2), and 46th in draw controls per game (12.6).

BIG GAME FOR 'BER
Amber Alderman had a career game at Canisius (Feb. 18) 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. She also tallied four points in the game to bring her career total to 53 and become just the sixth player in EMU history to surpass 50 points.

MILESTONE HUNTING • BLACKWELL
Following her four-point, three-goal game at Canisius (Feb. 18), Mackenzie Blackwell has scored 16 goals in 2026 to bring her career total to 163, the most by an EMU player in program history and the first player to surpass the 50, 100, and 150-goal milestones at Eastern. Along with goals, she has accumulated 182 career points by adding 19 assists to her total, including six in 2026, which tied her single-season best recorded in 2025. The only player to reach 100+ points in a career at Eastern and one of only three to surpass 50, she needs 18 points to become the first to reach 200.

MORE THAN HATS
To reach her goals and points totals, Mackenzie Blackwell has scored goals in bunches for the Eagles throughout her career. Blackwell has played in all 54 games in program history and has scored at least one goal in 87 percent of the games she has played with 77.8 percent of her games ending with multiple goals. Here is how she has fared throughout her career:
» 1+ goals: 47-of-54 games (.870 percent)
» 2+ goals: 42-of-54 games (.778)
» 3+ goals: 34-of-54 games (.630)
» 4+ goals: 21-of-54 games (.389)
» 5+ goals: 9-of-54 games (.167)

HAVE A DAGUE, KELSEA!
Entering the game with Lindenwood (Feb. 11), Kelsea Dague had not recorded a point for the Eagles in 2026 after sitting out the 2025 season because of injury. When the dust settled on the 14-11 victory over the Lions, Dague had finished with a hat trick, scoring three goals on three shots for her first goals and points since the 2024 MAC Tournament semifinal against Robert Morris, May 2, 2024. It marked her third career hat trick and her first since April 14, 2024, when she scored four against visiting Central Michigan.

Three days later against Xavier (Feb. 14), Dague was back at it again as she not only scored a hat trick and added one goal, but she was the lone EMU player to score multiple goals in the game. Dague, who scored the game-winning goal against the Musketeers, made it back-to-back games with a hat trick, a feat she previously accomplished April 7, 2024, and April 14, 2024, when scored four goals at Detroit Mercy and four at home against the Chippewas, respectively.

MILESTONE HUNTING • PORTER
With six saves at Canisius (Feb. 18), Maddy Porter brought her career total to 351 as she became the first Eagle to surpass 350 career saves. She is nearing another milestone as she has captured 149 career ground balls, leaving her one away from becoming the first player in program history to reach 150. In her first two seasons, she led the NCAA with 63 (2024) and 71 (2025) ground balls.

MILESTONE HUNTING • GROLLMAN
Tracy Grollman added three points on two goals and one assist at Canisius (Feb. 18) to bring her career total to 96 points with 40 assists and 56 goals. Grollman is now four points away from becoming only the second player in program history to surpass 100 points with Mackenzie Blackwell's 182 holding the top spot. Her one assist at Canisius gave her 40 for her career, making her the second EMU player to reach the milestone and leaves her five from tying Avery Schwab (2023-25) for the program record at 45.

A CAUSED (TURNOVER) FOR CELEBRATION
In the game with Lindenwood and Xavier, the Eagles were disruptive as the team has tallied 27 caused turnovers in those games. It started with 13 against Lindenwood (Feb. 11), then tied for the sixth-highest total in a single game in program history before being bumped one spot following the game with Xavier (Feb. 14) where EMU recorded 14, which tied for the third-highest. Overall, 11 Eagles recorded at least one caused turnover while five tallied at least four, including five from Karly Low and four each from Erin Humphrey, Payton Bloedow, and Maddy Porter. Against Canisius, Low and Haley Hodak continued their disruptive play as they both recorded two caused turnovers while adding two ground balls each to mark the third consecutive game both have tallied at least two in both categories.

AHOY, CAPTAINS!
Five Eagles were selected as team captains for the 2026 season. The captains include Mackenzie Blackwell, Samantha Borgert, Kelsea Dague, Maddy Porter, and Annika Wozney.

ON THE HORIZON
The Volunteer State awaits the Eagles for their next two games as Eastern will travel to Tennessee to face Austin Peay State University and Vanderbilt University. The Eagles and Governors will meet in Clarksville, Tenn., March 1, in an 11 a.m. CT (12 p.m. ET) contest before the Eagles and Commodores meet three days later (March 4) in a 12 p.m. CT (1 p.m. ET) game in Nashville, Tenn.

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

Amber Alderman

Mackenzie Blackwell

Payton Bloedow

Samantha Borgert

Kelsea Dague

Tracy Grollman

Emerson Henry

Haley Hodak

Erin Humphrey

Karly Low

Maddy Porter

Avery Schwab

Katheryn Wilson

Annika Wozney

Eastern Michigan Athletics