Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, March 16
Moon Township, Pa.
12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
4-4, 0-1MAC
9
at
10
Robert Morris
2-6, 1-0MAC
1
2
3
4
F
EMU
4
1
1
3
9
RMU
0
1
2
7
10
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Lacrosse Drops MAC Opener at RMU, 10-9
3/16/2025 4:45:00 PM | Lacrosse
Blackwell nets another hat trick but Eagles unable to hold on to early lead
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (EMUEagles.com) -- Mackenzie Blackwell turned in her seventh hat trick of the season and Maddie Porter recorded 13 saves, but it was not enough as the Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team fell at Robert Morris University, 10-9, in both teams' Mid-American Conference opener inside Joe Walton Stadium in Moon Township, Pa., Sunday, March 16. The Eagles (4-4, 0-1 MAC) held an early 5-0 lead before the Colonials (2-6, 1-0 MAC) chipped away throughout the contest before winning it late.
How It Happened
The game opened with the Eagles missing three consecutive shots before Abby Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) found the scoring touch to give EMU a 1-0 lead. After winning the draw control for the second time, the Eagles set up in the offensive zone before a one-hour lightning delay set in. After the stoppage in play at 12:32 remaining in the first, the teams returned to the field with the Eagles taking a 4-0 lead through the first quarter. Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern) scored her first of the day on a free-position shot to give the program record with 21 career free-position goals. She followed that with her second just minutes later for a 3-0 lead. Katheryn Wilson (Dacula, Ga./Mill Creek) joined in the scoring late in the period as Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) made two saves to help the defense post their sixth quarter shutout of the season.
In the second, the Eagles pushed their lead to 5-0 as Porter stole the ball and Eastern gained the offensive zone with Tracy Grollman (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School) slipping a shot past the keeper. After a goalkeeper substitution for the Colonials, the hosts would get on the board with 6:59 remaining to make it a 5-1 game at halftime. The single allowed goal tied for the fewest allowed in the first half of play after conceding one at home in the second half to Butler last year (March 15, 2024) and broke the record for fewest allowed in one half of play on the road, surpassing the two allowed at Gardner-Webb (Feb. 27) this year and the two at Howard (Feb. 25, 2024) last season.
The third opened with the Colonials cutting into the lead with one goal before Emerson Henry (Ashburn, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) scored to not only restore a four-goal advantage (6-2) but also end an over 16-minute scoring drought for the Eagles. RMU added one final goal in the quarter to send the game into the fourth with the Eagles ahead, 6-3.
RMU scored with 13:25 to play before Blackwell netted her third of the contest and Payton Bloedow (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake/Stony Brook) cut through the defense to make it 8-4. After a Colonial time out, the hosts would go on to score the next four goals to tie things at 8-8 with 4:03 remaining. Bloedow earned a free-position attempt in which she drove in on goal and scored low to regain a 9-8 lead for the visitors with 2:29 to play, but RMU found a way to score with 40 seconds remaining to tie the game at 9-9. The Colonials won the draw control and charged in on goal to draw a yellow card and a free-position attempt, which they scored to give the hosts their first lead of the day, 10-9, with 23 seconds to play. Despite winning the draw control, EMU was unable to get a shot off in the closing seconds.
Game Notes
» Mackenzie Blackwell scored three goals to net her seventh hat trick of the season in eight games played. Leading the team with 28 goals, Blackwell, has scored at least two goals in all eight games played this year.
» Mackenzie Blackwell fired 13 shots, including seven on goal. For all games played, those totals rank second and tied for fifth, respectively, in the program's single-game record book with her 14 total shots at Xavier, March 12, 2023, ranking higher. In MAC games, her 13 shots rank as the most all-time while her seven on frame tied for third.
» Tracy Grollman and Emerson Henry continued their goal scoring streaks with one goal each in the game. Henry has now scored at least one goal in five consecutive games while Grollman has tallied at least one in four consecutive.
» Payton Bloedow finished with two goals to mark her second multiple goal game with the Eagles after scoring four at Presbyterian (Feb. 25). The two-goal game also stood as just her second game scoring a goal with the Eagles.
» Maddie Porter collected 13 saves, seven ground balls, and three caused turnovers in the game, all of which rank in the program's single-game top 10 foro all games played and in MAC games. Her 13 saves tied for fourth in all games played while setting the record for conference games (was 12, Giuliana Ditsky vs. Central Michigan, April 5, 2023) while her three caused turnovers tied for sixth and fourth, respectively. Finally, her seven ground balls tied for fourth overall and second in league games.
Team Notes
» Eastern fell to 0-4 all-time against the Colonials and 0-2 when playing in Moon Township, Pa.
» The one goal allowed in the first half tied the record for fewest allowed in the opening half of play for the EMU defense in program history, tying the one allowed to Butler, March 15, 2024, in a home game. The one goal also is the fewest allowed in the first half of a road game for the Eagles, surpassing the two conceded to Gardner-Webb (Feb. 27) earlier this season and the two allowed at Howard (Feb. 25, 2024) last year.
» The one goal allowed in the first half tied for the lowest in any half of play in program history and marks the second time it has happened this year. The first instance this season came at Butler, March 7, with one goal allowed in the second half, while the first instance in program history was at home last year against Butler in the first half (March 15).
Up Next
The Eagles return to action next Sunday, March 23, when they welcome Youngstown State University to campus for Eastern Michigan's home MAC opener. The Eagles and Penguins will meet at 3 p.m. at Scicluna Field.
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
The game opened with the Eagles missing three consecutive shots before Abby Alderman (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) found the scoring touch to give EMU a 1-0 lead. After winning the draw control for the second time, the Eagles set up in the offensive zone before a one-hour lightning delay set in. After the stoppage in play at 12:32 remaining in the first, the teams returned to the field with the Eagles taking a 4-0 lead through the first quarter. Blackwell (North Beach, Md./Northern) scored her first of the day on a free-position shot to give the program record with 21 career free-position goals. She followed that with her second just minutes later for a 3-0 lead. Katheryn Wilson (Dacula, Ga./Mill Creek) joined in the scoring late in the period as Porter (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) made two saves to help the defense post their sixth quarter shutout of the season.
In the second, the Eagles pushed their lead to 5-0 as Porter stole the ball and Eastern gained the offensive zone with Tracy Grollman (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School) slipping a shot past the keeper. After a goalkeeper substitution for the Colonials, the hosts would get on the board with 6:59 remaining to make it a 5-1 game at halftime. The single allowed goal tied for the fewest allowed in the first half of play after conceding one at home in the second half to Butler last year (March 15, 2024) and broke the record for fewest allowed in one half of play on the road, surpassing the two allowed at Gardner-Webb (Feb. 27) this year and the two at Howard (Feb. 25, 2024) last season.
The third opened with the Colonials cutting into the lead with one goal before Emerson Henry (Ashburn, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) scored to not only restore a four-goal advantage (6-2) but also end an over 16-minute scoring drought for the Eagles. RMU added one final goal in the quarter to send the game into the fourth with the Eagles ahead, 6-3.
RMU scored with 13:25 to play before Blackwell netted her third of the contest and Payton Bloedow (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake/Stony Brook) cut through the defense to make it 8-4. After a Colonial time out, the hosts would go on to score the next four goals to tie things at 8-8 with 4:03 remaining. Bloedow earned a free-position attempt in which she drove in on goal and scored low to regain a 9-8 lead for the visitors with 2:29 to play, but RMU found a way to score with 40 seconds remaining to tie the game at 9-9. The Colonials won the draw control and charged in on goal to draw a yellow card and a free-position attempt, which they scored to give the hosts their first lead of the day, 10-9, with 23 seconds to play. Despite winning the draw control, EMU was unable to get a shot off in the closing seconds.
Game Notes
» Mackenzie Blackwell scored three goals to net her seventh hat trick of the season in eight games played. Leading the team with 28 goals, Blackwell, has scored at least two goals in all eight games played this year.
» Mackenzie Blackwell fired 13 shots, including seven on goal. For all games played, those totals rank second and tied for fifth, respectively, in the program's single-game record book with her 14 total shots at Xavier, March 12, 2023, ranking higher. In MAC games, her 13 shots rank as the most all-time while her seven on frame tied for third.
» Tracy Grollman and Emerson Henry continued their goal scoring streaks with one goal each in the game. Henry has now scored at least one goal in five consecutive games while Grollman has tallied at least one in four consecutive.
» Payton Bloedow finished with two goals to mark her second multiple goal game with the Eagles after scoring four at Presbyterian (Feb. 25). The two-goal game also stood as just her second game scoring a goal with the Eagles.
» Maddie Porter collected 13 saves, seven ground balls, and three caused turnovers in the game, all of which rank in the program's single-game top 10 foro all games played and in MAC games. Her 13 saves tied for fourth in all games played while setting the record for conference games (was 12, Giuliana Ditsky vs. Central Michigan, April 5, 2023) while her three caused turnovers tied for sixth and fourth, respectively. Finally, her seven ground balls tied for fourth overall and second in league games.
Team Notes
» Eastern fell to 0-4 all-time against the Colonials and 0-2 when playing in Moon Township, Pa.
» The one goal allowed in the first half tied the record for fewest allowed in the opening half of play for the EMU defense in program history, tying the one allowed to Butler, March 15, 2024, in a home game. The one goal also is the fewest allowed in the first half of a road game for the Eagles, surpassing the two conceded to Gardner-Webb (Feb. 27) earlier this season and the two allowed at Howard (Feb. 25, 2024) last year.
» The one goal allowed in the first half tied for the lowest in any half of play in program history and marks the second time it has happened this year. The first instance this season came at Butler, March 7, with one goal allowed in the second half, while the first instance in program history was at home last year against Butler in the first half (March 15).
Up Next
The Eagles return to action next Sunday, March 23, when they welcome Youngstown State University to campus for Eastern Michigan's home MAC opener. The Eagles and Penguins will meet at 3 p.m. at Scicluna Field.
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
EMU
RMU
Shots
35
27
Turnovers
17
18
Caused Turnovers
8
11
Draw Controls
8
15
Free-Position Shots
4
4
Ground Balls
25
21
Game Leaders
Players
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
2
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
Players Mentioned
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/ LacrosseA
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