Lacrosse Opens MAC Play Hosting Kent State

GAME #10 \| vs KENT STATE \| MAC OPENER
Date	Saturday, March 14 \| 1 p.m.
Venue	Scicluna Field \| Ypsilanti, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live	Live Statistics \| Watch (ESPN+)
Social Media	Instagram: @emu_Lacrosse \| Twitter: @EMU_Lacrosse

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team is set to open Mid-American Conference play this week as the Eagles will welcome the Kent State University Golden Flashes to town for a 1 p.m. contest at Scicluna Field Saturday, March 14. The game between the Eagles (5-4) and Golden Flashes (4-3), which will be aired live on ESPN+, will mark the first time in program history Eastern has played its first MAC game of the season at home after opening on the road each of the past three seasons.

OPENING DRAWS
» Eastern is 5-4 overall and coming off back-to-back losses to 'Power 4' schools, including its 16-9 home loss to visiting Cincinnati (March 8). The loss marked the first home loss of the season for the Eagles.
» The five wins earned in non-conference play are the most in a single season in program history, surpassing the four won in 2025, while the three wins at home equals the number of non-conference home wins Eastern had entering the year after securing one in each of its first three seasons.
» Eastern is 1-2 in its MAC opener with all three coming on the road, including a 10-9 setback at Robert Morris last year (March 16, 2025). The Eagles are 2-1 in their first home MAC game of the season and have won two consecutive, including their 19-6 defeat of Youngstown State last year (March 23).
» Several career milestones could be achieved in the game with Kent State as Mackenzie Blackwell is five points away from becoming the first EMU player to reach 200 and one draw control away from 250. Maddy Porter is 10 saves shy of reaching 400 for her career.
» Mackenzie Blackwell added her sixth hat trick of the season against Cincinnati, March 8, as she netted three goals against the Bearcats. Blackwell has tallied 26 goals and added a career-high nine assists for 35 points, ranking her 20th nationally in goals scored and 26th in points in 2026.
» Tracy Grollman tied a program record with five assists against Cincinnati, equaling the mark established by Sydney Lawrence at Youngstown State, April 21, 2024. Grollman has tallied 52 career assists, the most in program history and the first to surpass 50 in a career. Additionally, Grollman is 25th nationally with 17 assists this year, leaving her two away from tying the single-season record.
» Eastern scooped up 28 ground balls against Cincinnati, which tied for the fifth-highest total in a single game in program history. It also marked a season high for EMU, who previously picked up 27 against Xavier, Feb. 14.
» The Bearcats tallied 26 draw controls to break the Scicluna Field record of 23 set by the Eagles twice before (March 23, 2025 vs. Youngstown State and April 29, 2023 vs. Detroit Mercy). Additionally, Morgan Handzel recorded 24 of those draw controls to break the facility record of 12 set by Emerson Henry against Youngstown State (March 23, 2025) while tying the NCAA single-game record that was set twice previously.
» Maddy Porter recorded a program-record 21 saves in the loss at Vanderbilt (March 4), surpassing her own record of 20 set March 17, 2024, at Marquette. Porter, who tallied a program-record 13 stops in the first half, tied for the national lead for saves in a game with Isabella McCullough of Longwood (21 vs. Liberty, March 4).
» EMU has won four of its five games after trailing at some point, including twice when trailing in the fourth quarter. To aid in those wins, the defense held its opponent scoreless for more than 12 minutes in three of those contests, including the last three victories recorded (12:47 vs. Xavier, 19:00 at Oregon, 14:02 at Austin Peay).
» 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 TO BEARCATS
Eastern fell behind early following an eight-goal run by Cincinnati and were unable to climb back into the contest as the Eagles dropped a 16-9 decision to the visiting Bearcats, March 8. UC's Morgan Handzel collected 24 draw controls to tie the NCAA single-game record and keep the Bearcats' offense on the field as both teams scored seven goals in the second half after UC built a 9-2 halftime lead. Mackenzie Blackwell scored three goals while Emerson Henry and Emma Reichert added two each and Tracy Grollman dished a school-record-tying five assists in the game for the Eagles.

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PORTER HONORED
Porter and the Eagles played two games against 'Power 4' opponents, including an 11-8 setback at Vanderbilt (March 4) and a 16-9 home loss to Cincinnati (March 8). She tallied 25 saves, 13 ground balls, and five caused turnovers in the two games with her performance at Vanderbilt placing her among the top keepers in the nation. On the road against the Commodores, Porter stopped 21 shots to break her own school record (previously was 20), while her 13 saves in the first half broke the program record as well (previously was 12) as she moved into a tie for the most saves in a single game among all NCAA Division I goalkeepers in 2026. Additionally, she posted 13 ground balls that included five at Vanderbilt and eight against Cincinnati, which tied for the fourth-highest total in the NCAA this year while her five caused turnovers against the Bearcats tied for the 14th-highest total in the NCAA as well. Her five caused turnovers also tied the program's single-game record while her eight ground balls ranked fourth in program history.

A RARE MAC-CURRENCE
This weekend marks the start of Mid-American Conference play with all eight teams set to open their respective league slates. The game for the Eagles will mark their fourth MAC opener and their first opener played at home after playing the previous three on the road. Eastern lost at Detroit Mercy, 17-7, April 1, 2023, before defeating Akron on the road, 11-10, March 24, 2024. Last year, the Eagles dropped a 10-9 game at Robert Morris.

GOING FOR THREE
Eastern is 2-1 all-time in its first home MAC contest of the year and has won two consecutive lid lifters, including a 19-6 defeat of Youngstown State, March 23, 2025. The Eagles' first home MAC contest came April 5, 2023, in a 17-11 loss to Central Michigan before Eastern rebounded one year later, March 31, 2024, with a 12-11 defeat of Kent State.

BITING NAILS
Eastern has been involved in one-goal games in each of the past two MAC openers, including a 10-9 loss at Robert Morris (March 16, 2025) last year. Prior to that, the Eagles secured an 11-10 win at Akron (March 24, 2024) for their first victory in a league opener. Additionally, the home opener in 2024 (March 31) against Kent State ended in a one-goal score with Eastern scoring a 12-11 win.

KNOW THE FOE: KENT STATE
The Golden Flashes enter the game with a 4-3 record and, like the Eagles, have lost two consecutive games against 'Power 4' foes, including a 13-7 home loss to Cincinnati (March 6) and a 15-1 loss at Oregon (March 9). Kent State and Eastern share five common opponents played in the non-conference season with the Eagles holding a 4-1 record with wins over Lindenwood, Butler, Xavier, and Oregon, and a loss to Cincinnati, while the Golden Flashes were 3-2 with their wins coming against Lindenwood, Butler, and Xavier. Individually, Zayda Crumpton leads the way for KSU with 26 points on 15 goals and 11 assists while also adding a team-high 15 draw controls. Defensively, Sydney Davis has started all seven games and has recorded 76 saves and allowed 65 goals.

IN THE SERIES: EAGLES vs. GOLDEN FLASHES
Eastern holds a 2-1 lead in its series with Kent State and has won two consecutive meetings, including a 15-8 decision in Kent, Ohio, last year (April 13). The Eagles are 1-1 all-time when hosting the Golden Flashes with Eastern taking a 12-11 win the most recent meeting in Ypsilanti (March 31, 2024) to avenge a 19-9 loss at home (April 12, 2023) in EMU's inaugural season of play.

LAST TIME • EMU AT KENT STATE
Eastern scored a 15-8 victory at Kent State, April 13, 2025, in the most recent meeting between the two sides with Mackenzie Blackwell recording nine points on eight goals and one assist while Tracy Grollman secured six points on two goals and four assists. The Eagles broke the game open in the second as they turned a 2-2 game into an 8-3 lead at halftime. A five-goal fourth quarter put distance between the two teams on the scoreboard as Maddy Porter recorded 14 saves to help EMU to victory.

LAST TIME • EMU HOSTED KENT STATE
The last time Eastern and Kent State met in Ypsilanti was March 21, 2024, where the Eagles escaped with a 12-11 victory. Entering the fourth quarter trailing, 9-7, the Eagles tied the score with two goals before KSU took a 10-9 lead. EMU scored the next three goals for a 12-10 with the Golden Flashes scoring at 1:15 remaining to close the gap, but it wasn't enough as EMU held on to win. Mackenzie Blackwell led the way with five goals while Sydney Lawrence added three and Avery Schwab dished four assists. Maddy Porter recorded eight saves in the game as well.

POWER OUTAGE
The 2026 season featured a trio of games against 'Power 4' foes with the Eagles going 1-2 in those contests, including its first victory over a 'Power 4' squad with its 12-9 road win at Oregon (Feb. 22). Eastern played back-to-back games against 'Power 4' teams and dropped both, including an 11-8 loss at Vanderbilt (March 4) and a 16-9 setback at home to Cincinnati (March 8). Entering the season, Eastern was 0-7 all-time against 'Power 4' foes.

BEST START
With a 5-4 record, the 2026 Eagles are tied with the 2024 and 2025 teams for the most wins through nine games played. A win over Kent State would give this year's squad the best start in program history as the previous teams both lost in game No. 10.

TOUGH TO CLOSE OUT
The Eagles have won five games in 2026 and trailed in four of those contests with only a wire-to-wire home win over Butler (Feb. 8) the outlier. Starting with the win over Lindenwood (Feb. 11), Eastern has trailed its opponent in each of the last five games and pulled out a win in four, including victories over Xavier (Feb. 14) and Austin Peay (March 1), when the Eagles trailed in the fourth quarter before claiming victory.

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT
Eastern has held foes scoreless for long stretches in the fourth quarter in its past three victories while scoring goals to help complete come-from-behind wins. The win over Xavier (Feb. 14) saw the Eagles hold the Musketeers scoreless the final 12:47 of the game while scoring four goals to win, 9-7. On the road at Oregon, the Ducks tied the game at nine with four minutes to play in the third before EMU went on a 3-0 run over the final 19 minutes of play for the 12-9 win. Most recently, Eastern held Austin Peay (March 1) scoreless over the final 14:02 while going on a 5-0 run for the 13-10 win.

STOP RIGHT THERE!
For the second time in her career, Maddy Porter finished a game with 20+ saves as the junior goalkeeper halted 21 Vanderbilt shots (March 4) to break her own program record of 20 saves she recorded March 17, 2024, at Marquette. Porter, who has tallied 386 career saves, owns the top eight spots on the program's single-game saves ledger as she has stopped at least 13 shots in those contests. She also has made it three consecutive seasons with recording at least 18 saves in a single game after stopping 18 against San Diego State at home, Feb. 9, 2025.

BUSY FIRST HALF
To reach her single-game record of 21 saves at Vanderbilt (March 4), Maddy Porter turned away 13 Commodore shots in the first half of play, a total that would be tied for the seventh-highest game total in program history on its own. The 13 first-half saves broke Porter's previous record of 12 saves she recorded against San Diego State (Feb. 9, 2025) on her way to an 18-save performance. The 13 saves also marked her fourth half of play with double-digit stops after she recorded 10 saves in both halves of the game at Marquette, March 17, 2024, on her way to the then-record of 20 saves in a game.

ON THE LIST • NCAA
March 4 was a day for goalkeeper saves as the top three NCAA Division I performances were recorded on the same day. Maddy Porter recorded 21 saves for Eastern at Vanderbilt while Isabella McCullough of Longwood tied for the single-game high after stopping 21 shots against Liberty. Haley Richards of Louisville recorded 19 saves in the Cardinals' game with Florida State to take the third spot, all of which surpassed the previous best of 18 saves that was recorded twice on Opening Day (Feb. 6). That day, Kimaari Mondy (Delaware State) and Sophia Pasnak (Manhattan) set the mark to beat for the season.

NEAR THE TOP OF THE (COLLEGIATE) WORLD
Following games played March 11, Mackenzie Blackwell continues to rank among the best nationally as she holds three rankings among the top 50, including standing 20th in NCAA Division I with 26 goals. She also ranks 26th in points with 35 while sitting 47th in goals per game with 2.89. On a conference level, Blackwell has her name listed in the top 10 of seven categories, including first in goals (26), first in points (35), third in goals per game (2.89), third in points per game (3.89(, fourth in shots per game (6.56), and 10th in both assists per game (1.00) and draw controls per game (2.33).

PORTER ON THE RISE
Maddy Porter is among the top goalkeepers nationally as she ranks in the top 50 in three categories, including third in saves (79). She also ranks seventh in ground balls per game (3.44) and 26th in saves per game (8.78). On a MAC level, she appears on five top 10 lists, including first in both saves and ground balls per game, third in both saves per game and save percentage (.418), and fifth in goals against average (12.57).

HAPPY HELPER
Tracy Grollman is the third Eagle that appears on the national top 50 charts this week as she ranks 25th in assists with 17. The MAC leader in helpers, Grollman is second in the league in assists per game at 1.89.

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
» 173 goals = 7th in NCAA Division I
» 2.98 goals/game = 15th in NCAA Division I
» 195 points = 15th in NCAA Division I
» 3.36 points/game = 28th in NCAA Division I
» 4.29 draw controls/game = 17th in NCAA Division I
Maddy Porter
» 4.02 ground balls/game= 1st in NCAA Division I
» 165 ground balls = 2nd in NCAA Division I
» 9.51 saves per game = 4th in NCAA Division I
» 390 saves = 8th in NCAA Division I
Tracy Grollman
» 52 assists = 44th in NCAA Division I

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 58 games in program history and has scored at least one goal in 87.9 percent of the games she has played with 79.3 percent of her games ending with multiple goals. Here is how she has fared throughout her career:
» 1+ goals: 51-of-58 games (.879 percent)
» 2+ goals: 46-of-58 games (.793)
» 3+ goals: 36-of-58 games (.621)
» 4+ goals: 21-of-58 games (.362)
» 5+ goals: 9-of-58 games (.155)

DOING THE DISHES
In the past three games, Tracy Grollman has tied and then overtaken the top spot on the program's career assist ledger as the senior brought her total to 52 assists following five helpers against Cincinnati to give her 10 in the past three contests. Grollman opened the three-game stretch with three assists at Austin Peay (March 1) to tie the all-time mark of 45 set by Avery Schwab (2023-25) before adding two more helpers at Vanderbilt (March 4). Grollman is the only player in EMU history to reach 50 assists in a career.

GROLLMAN HITS CENTURY MARK
Tracy Grollman recorded four points on two goals and two assists at Oregon (Feb. 22) to bring her career total to 100 points (now at 111), making her only the second player in program history to reach the century mark. Grollman, who recorded her sixth career game with multiple goals and multiple assists in the same contest, broke her season high for points with five on five assists against Cincinnati (March 8).

OH HENRY!
Emerson Henry has found her scoring touch as she tallied 11 goals in the past four games, including a career-high five at Austin Peay (March 1) with two goals each scored at Oregon (Feb. 22), at Vanderbilt (March 4) and at home against Cincinnati (March 8). Her five goals, which surpassed the four she scored against Akron (April 20, 2025) at home, marked her fourth career hat trick and bettered her season high of two goals scored at Oregon one game prior. Her five goals, which tied for the eighth-most in a single game in EMU history, included two woman-up goals, which tied for the third-highest total in program history.

NATIONALLY KNOWN • TEAM RANKINGS
As a team, Eastern is among the top 50 in two statistical categories (through games played March 11), led by the team's 18.22 ground balls per game, which rank 13th nationally. The Eagles also rank 18th in caused turnovers per game at 10.78.

MILESTONE HUNTING • BLACKWELL
Mackenzie Blackwell is the program's career leader in nine categories, including goals (173), hat tricks (36), game-winning goals (six), free-position goals (28), woman-up goals (38), points (195), shots (368), shots on goal (270), and draw controls (249) through the game played with Cincinnati (March 8). The only player in program history to reach 100 and 150 goals and the first of two to reach 100 points, Blackwell is nearing another stellar milestone as she needs just one draw control win to reach 250. Additionally, she is chasing 200 career points as she needs just five more.

MORE MILESTONES AHEAD
A handful of Eagles are approaching career milestones as well as several look to reach new heights in goals, points, and caused turnovers. Here is who is moving closer to higher marks:
» Goals: Abby Alderman has tallied 48 goals in her career and needs two more to become only the fourth player in EMU history to reach 50.
» Points: Two Eagles are approaching 50 career points with Katheryn Wilson at 47 and Kelsea Dague at 44. The duo currently ranks eighth and ninth, respectively, on the program's top 10 ledger.
» Caused Turnovers: Annika Wozney, who has started on defense in all 57 of EMU's games, has collected 42 caused turnovers, leaving her eight away from becoming just the second player to reach 50 and nine away from tying Sydney Lawrence (2023-24) for the record (51).

SHE CAN DIG IT
Maddy Porter achieved her second career milestone of the season during the victory at Oregon (Feb. 22) as the junior goalkeeper collected one ground ball to bring her career total to 150, making her the first player in program history to reach the milestone mark after becoming the first to reach 100 as well. Ranked first among all current NCAA Division I players for career ground balls per game average (4.2), Porter previously recorded her 350th career save in the game at Canisius (Feb. 18) and is now 10 away from reaching 400 after posting four against Cincinnati (March 8).

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 first two Mid-American Conference road games of the season await Eastern Michigan next week as the Eagles will venture next door into Wayne County to face the Titans of Detroit Mercy, March 19, at 4 p.m. in Detroit.

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.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Abby Alderman

Mackenzie Blackwell

Samantha Borgert

Kelsea Dague

Tracy Grollman

Emerson Henry

Maddy Porter

Emma Reichert

Avery Schwab

Katheryn Wilson

Annika Wozney

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