Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Richmond
Soccer Heads to Richmond, Va. For VCU Tourney
9/10/2009 11:03:42 AM | Soccer
The Eagles will take on Richmond and Loyola (MD) in a tournament hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University.
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University women's soccer team will trek to Virginia for a pair of non-conference matches in Richmond. It'll be a weekend of firsts for the Eagles as they will make their first-ever trip to Virginia and take on their first-ever opponent from the state of Virginia and Maryland.
EMU (2-1-1) will battle with Richmond Friday at 5 p.m. and then Loyola (MD) at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Green and White are coming off a tough scoreless draw with Detroit in which the Eagles mounted 27 shots against the Titans, but couldn't net anything to show for it. They were 7-3-3 on the road in 2008 and are seeking their first win away from home this season.
ABOUT THE SPIDERS: Richmond, who enters play this weekend with a 2-3 record, was picked to finish seventh out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season. The spiders are coming off a 3-0 shutout win of Coastal Carolina in their last game which snapped a three-game losing streak. Their only other win was against James Madison in the season opener, a 3-0 shutout as well. Aside from losing its leading scorer from last season, Richmond returns four starters and welcomes 10 newcomers to their 2009 squad. Friday's meeting will be the first between EMU and Richmond.
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS: Loyola (MD) returns nine starters and 20 letterwinners from its 2008 squad who won the regular season MAAC crown with a 7-0-2 record. They were picked to finish second in league play this year behind Fairfield and, so far, are 3-2-1 overall heading into play this weekend. Their three wins have come against Mt. St. Mary's, High Point and Lafayette while their only two losses have come to Wake Forest and Maryland. The Greyhounds and Eagles will meet for the first time on Sunday.
A WEEKEND OF FIRSTS: Eastern Michigan will travel to and play its first-ever opponent from the state of Virginia when they take part in a tournament hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University Sept. 11-13. In addition, they'll also face off against a team from Maryland for the first time in school history as well. In the 15 years EMU has had women's soccer, Eagle teams have traveled as far east as Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New York, Florida and Georgia, but never to Virginia or Maryland.
MICHIGAN NATIVE: There's only one Michigan native amongst the Eagles' two opponents this weekend. Nichole Schiro, an Okemos High School grad, is in her freshman season with Loyola (MD) in 2009. In high school, she set school records in career goals, assists and points and led Okemos to the 2006 state title and a 2007 regional crown. So far in 2009, she's recorded a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds which ties for fifth on the team in points.
LOSS OF A HOME GAME: The Eagles and Detroit played to a double overtime draw last Tuesday at Titan Field in Detroit. The match, originally scheduled to be played at Scicluna Field in Ypsilanti, was moved due to poor field conditions from steady rain leading up to and continuing to fall through Tuesday. For the second consecutive season, both teams played to a scoreless draw in Detroit, but the Eagles remain unbeaten against the Titans in their last six meetings. They are 3-0-3 during that span.
SHOOTIN' THE ROCK: Through their first four games of the season, the Eagles lead the league in total shots (71) and shots per game (17.75). Stephanie Janssens leads the team and is tied for fourth in the league in shots per game (2.75). The junior turned in a season-high seven shots in the team's last match at Detroit in which they tied the Titans in a scoreless affair through after two overtimes.
