Eagles Head to Minnesota for Matches Against Big Ten Foes

Soccer vs. Iowa \| at Minnesota
Date	Friday, Aug. 26 \| Sunday, Aug. 28
Location	Minneapolis, Minn. \| Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	GopherSports.com
Live Stream	Not Available
Twitter	@EMUSoccer \| @EMUAthletics

MINNEAPOLIS (EMUEagles.com) - Coming off a scoreless draw to begin the season, the Eastern Michigan University women's soccer team hits the road for a three-game road trip. The stretch gets underway this weekend in Minneapolis, where the Green and White are set to battle the University of Iowa, Aug. 26, at 4:30 p.m. and the University of Minnesota, Aug. 28, at 2 p.m.
   Fans can follow live stats at GopherSports.com, or via the team's Twitter account, @EMUSoccer, for in-game updates.

PARTY LIKE ITS 1999: This weekend's roadtrip marks the Eagles' first trip to Minneapolis since 1999, when the Green and White landed in the University of Minnesota regional for the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles secured the programs first and only NCAA Tournament berth with a thrilling double overtime clash with Miami in the Mid-American Conference Championship game. After claiming the title and automatic bid in PK's, EMU fell to the Golden Gophers, 2-nil.

ALL-TIME SERIES: This weekend's matches mark the second time the Eagles will face Minnesota and Iowa in program history, as EMU trails in each all-time series by a 0-1-0 mark. While Eastern's lone meeting versus Minnesota came during the 1999 season, the Green and White have clashed with Iowa more recently. Just over 10 years ago, the Eagles were bested by the Hawkeyes, 2-1, Sept. 10, 2006, in Iowa City, Iowa.

BATTLING THE B1G TEN: Big Ten Conference opponents are no stranger to Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles have met institutions from the Chicago-based conference 32 times. Overall, EMU holds a 2-25-5 ledger against the league, with wins over Indiana and Michigan State. The Eagles' most recent B1G victory came in 2014, when Eastern topped Indiana, 2-0, in Ypsilanti behind the brace of Angela Vultaggio. The last time EMU defeated a Big Ten opponent away from home came back in 1999 when the Green and White topped Michigan State, 1-0, in East Lansing on a goal by Amanda Kulikowski in the 53rd minute.

MATCHING UP WITH MINNESOTA: The Golden Gophers welcome the Eagles to Minneapolis as the 19th-ranked team in the NSCAA poll after an unblemished opening weekend. Minnesota broke the season open with a 2-1 road win over Kansas before wrapping up the weekend with a 3-0 win against Utah.
   Minnesota returns several key veterans, including Simone Kolander. After scoring 10 goals in 2015, Kolander picked up right where she left off, tallying two goals and an assist to lead the Golden Gophers. Senior midfielder Josee Stiever was UM's top point-getter, recording two goals and a pair of assists in two games.
   In goal, Minnesota relies on the play of veteran goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs. Coming off a strong 2015 season, Hobbs registered three saves in 180 minutes of action, including a shutout over the weekend.

IOWA INSIDER: The Hawkeyes are coming off a tumultous opening weekend in which they finished with a 1-1-0 record. After dropping a match to Creighton, 5-3, in its season opener, Iowa came back to beat Missouri, 2-1, in overtime.
   On attack, UI is led by Isabella Blackman and Kaleigh Haus. The duo netted a goal and added an assist each to pace the Hawkeyes in week one. Collectively, Iowa had four players find the back of the net, while five players picked up assists.
   Defensively, UI has turned to freshman Claire Graves in goal. Through her first two collegiate games, Graves made 13 saves and owns a 2.93 goals against average, as well as a 0.684 save percentage.

KEEPIN' IT CLEAN: In her second season between the pipes for the Eagles, sophomore goalkeeper Kaylin Williams was rock solid in EMU's scoreless tie with Butler, Aug. 21. Williams made five saves in the contest en route to her third career shutout. Additionally, in two seasons, Williams has posted shutouts in each of her season debuts.

EAGLES POST SCORELESS DRAW AGAINST BUTLER: Eastern Michigan opened the 2016 campaign versus Butler Sunday, Aug. 21, coming away with a scoreless tie. The Eagles weathered a strong start by the Bulldogs, and an early 8-1 shot differential in favor of BU, to keep the game scoreless heading into halftime. In the second half, EMU put more pressure on Butler but could not come away with a goal, forcing extra time. The Green and White owned overtime, holding BU to just one shot, but despite several close calls came away with a draw.

FOUR EAGLES MAKE DEBUTS: Sunday's season opener brought about the collegiate debuts for four Eagles as redshirt freshman Mia Colavito and freshman Nicole Remedios, Sabrina McNeil, and Maggie McCullough donned the Green and White for the first time. Colavito entered the match as a sub, providing EMU with quality minutes in the midfield, as did McCullough. Meanwhile, Remedios and McNeil garnered spots in the starting XI. Remedios began the match at center back, while McNeil started the game at striker. Remedios' composure and play on the defensive end of the pitch helped the Eagles to a shutout and McNeil fired off a team-high three shots in the draw.

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Players Mentioned

Mia Colavito

Maggie McCullough

Sabrina McNeill

Nicole Remedios

Kaylin Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics