In a historic display of resilience and offensive power, the Eastern Michigan University lacrosse team secured a landmark 12-9 victory over the University of Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 22. The win at Pape Field in Eugene, Ore., represents a major milestone for the program, marking the Eagles’ first-ever win against a "Power 4" opponent. After seven previous attempts against prestigious programs from the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and SEC, EMU finally broke through, defeating a Ducks squad that recently joined the Big Ten Conference.
The victory also moved the Eagles to a 4-2 record, tying the 2025 squad for the best start in the program's short history. Furthermore, the win improved EMU’s all-time record against Oregon to 1-1, with the road team winning both matchups in the series history.
A seesaw first half
The Eagles wasted no time asserting themselves, as Roya Khaleeli found the back of the net just 62 seconds into the game to grab an early 1-0 lead. Oregon responded aggressively, netting three consecutive goals to take a 3-1 lead. EMU refused to back down; Tracy Grollman scored after Karly Low hit her in stride with a pass, and Emerson Henry followed with a quick strike from the top of the fan to tie the game at 3-3. However, Oregon managed two late goals to hold a 5-3 lead at the end of the first period.
The second quarter belonged to Eastern Michigan, as the team exploded for six goals. Mackenzie Blackwell sparked the comeback by firing a shot into the top corner, and Kelsea Dague followed with a bouncing shot to cut the deficit. Utilizing a "woman-up" advantage, Grollman "dunked" an alley-oop pass from Kyleigh Dill to tie the game at 6-6. Dill followed with a free-position goal to reclaim the lead. After Oregon briefly tied it again, Blackwell and Henry both scored in the final four minutes of the half to give EMU a 9-7 lead going into the locker room.
Defensive lockdown
The high-scoring pace of the first half vanished in the third quarter, which turned into a defensive stalemate where Oregon scored twice to tie the game at 9-9. In the fourth quarter, the EMU defense, anchored by goalkeeper Maddy Porter, was impenetrable. The Eagles shut out the Ducks for the final 15 minutes while adding three unanswered goals.
Kelsea Dague broke an 18-minute and 17-second scoring drought with what would eventually be the game-winning goal at the 12:12 mark. Stella Burke added insurance just 29 seconds later, and Dague completed her hat trick with 23 seconds remaining into an empty net to finalize the 12-9 score. The defense’s second-half performance was historic, as the two goals allowed tied for the third-fewest permitted in any second half in program history.
Record-breaking milestones
Beyond the team success, several Eagles reached individual milestones:
- Tracy Grollman recorded four points to reach 100 career points.
- Maddy Porter recorded nine saves and one ground ball; that ground ball was the 150th of her career, making her the first Eagle to reach that milestone.
- Mackenzie Blackwell’s two goals moved her to 184 career points, putting her within 16 points of becoming the first EMU player to reach 200.
- Emerson Henry led the team with four draw controls and recorded her first multi-goal game of the season.
Looking ahead
The Eagles will look to carry this momentum into a two-game trip to Tennessee. They are scheduled to face Austin Peay State University on March 1 in Clarksville, followed by a matchup against Vanderbilt University on March 4 in Nashville.
