Coming home from a 3-1 victory over the University of Southern Indiana on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, the Eastern Michigan University Eagles celebrated Labor Day weekend with a return to Scicluna Field and a 2-0 win over the Robert Morris University Colonials for a Senior Day victory on Sunday, Aug. 31.
Prior to the game, Eastern Michigan honored their six soccer seniors: Megan Heath (Medina, Ohio); Hannah Thompson (Schoolcraft, Mich); Secora Johnson (Galena, Ohio); Mary Grimes (Commerce Township, Mich.); Sophia Baumann (Romeo, Mich.); and Lily Spotak (Palatine, Ill.).
The game started quickly for the Eagles with an early set piece opportunity, but the team was denied the chance to open the scoring by Colonials' goalkeeper Emma Cameron. Nevertheless, Eastern’s continued defensive press kept the Robert Morris offense attack off-balance as the Eagles dominated possession and seldom gave up control.
13 minutes into the game, junior transfer Aniyah Mack (Cincinnati, Ohio) opened up the scoring for the Eagles with a left-foot rocket that she propelled under the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Senior Secora Johnson and Canadian sophomore Maya Marolly (Montreal, Quebec) were credited with the assist as the Eagles found themselves up 1-0.
Eastern goalkeeper Ella Holland had a fairly inactive first half with only two saves needed, while her counterpart Emma Cameron saved eight shots to keep Robert Morris within striking distance. The Eagles tallied nine shots on goal during the first 45 and went into the halftime break up 1-0.
A break in the action did not slow the Eagles down as just a minute into the second half, junior Olivia Sipsock (Medina, Ohio) sent a speedy ground ball to the corner pocket perfectly placed under the goalkeeper's outstretched legs, which doubled the Eagles lead.
Maya Marolly and junior Sarah Van Euwen (Avon Lake, Ohio) were credited with the assist, making that two on the day for Marolly.
The Eagles' pressure on defense continued to give the Colonials fits as they only put one more shot on target in the second period. Holland snuffed out three Colonials' corner kicks in the second half and quickly put the ball back in play while encouraging her team to keep up the continuous attacks on Robert Morris’ goal.
The game ended 2-0 with the Eagles claiming the victory.
“Just really proud of the team effort, and I saw a level of tenacity that is one of the team’s core values,” said Eastern Michigan Head Coach Taylor Clarke. “We saw people running through 50/50s, putting in tackles, and joining the attack, which we haven’t seen consistently, so it was nice to see some of the mentality and effort pieces catch up."
When asked about the impact the seniors on the team have had, Clarke said, “It's the relentless belief. They are a group of people who have bought into exactly what we've asked them to do, which is to believe that we can compete with anybody."
“And they wear that every day," he added. "They believe we can compete with the best. And it's been really cool to see them take that on."
The Eagles travel to Chicago next week to take on DePaul University on Sept. 7 for a 1:30 p.m. showdown and will return home on Thursday, Sept. 11, to take on Loyola University Chicago at Scicluna Field to celebrate Spirit and Mental Health Awareness day.
