MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The University of Akron (12-4, 6-1 MAC) edged out Eastern Michigan University (10-7, 5-2 MAC) with a 10-9 victory in double overtime at Joe Walton Stadium. This win advances Akron to the championship game for the second-straight year, as they aim to defend their title as reigning champs. Akron's defense made a significant impact with 20 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
The second-seeded Zips will play top-seeded UMass on Saturday at 12 pm ET on ESPN+ in the championship game at Joe Walton Stadium.
The game commenced with Akron's Sienna Hinchcliffe securing the initial draw control. The Zips applied early pressure, with Heather Carey's shot being saved by Eastern Michigan’s goalie, Maddy Porter, at 14:23. The Zips took the lead at 12:06 when Katie Baumer scored her 38th goal of the season. Akron maintained momentum, and with just 1:29 remaining, Hinchcliffe extended the lead to 2-0 with her 71st goal of the season. The Eagles attempted to respond, but Akron’s defense and goalie Adrianna Califano kept them scoreless through the first quarter.
Akron extended its lead in the second quarter, starting with Baumer's goal at 8:40, marking her 39th of the season. Hinchcliffe, assisted by Kellen Fletcher, scored her 72nd goal of the season at 5:23, adding to Akron's momentum. Avery Wallace then found the net at 3:11, securing her second goal of the season. The Eagles managed to score late in the quarter, with Kelsea Dague converting a free position shot at 00:41, but Akron held a 5-1 advantage by the end of the quarter.
Eastern Michigan started the third quarter with strong offensive pressure. Tracy Grollman opened the scoring at 11:49, assisted by Mackenzie Blackwell, bringing the Eagles within one goal. Dague capitalized on a player-up opportunity at 7:43, leveling the game at 5-5. The Zips responded with Baumer's goal at 1:19, regaining the lead 6-5. However, Eastern Michigan's Dague scored again with 35 seconds left, assisted by Emerson Henry, to end the quarter with a 6-6 tie.
In the fourth quarter, Heather Carey extended Akron's lead to 8-5 with a goal assisted by Fletcher at 12:20. The Eagles responded with two consecutive goals, including Blackwell's 46th of the season at 10:19, narrowing the deficit to 8-7. Baumer then scored at 8:37 for Akron, assisted by Kaitlyn Sikorski, bringing the score to 9-7. The Eagles fought back, with Dague and Blackwell scoring to equalize at 9-9. The quarter concluded with no further scoring, maintaining a tense draw at the end.
In the first overtime, Akron and Eastern Michigan engaged in a defensive struggle, with neither team managing to score. Eastern Michigan gained initial possession with a draw control by Abby Alderman, but a turnover caused by Baumer halted its progress. The Zips called a timeout at 3:24 and successfully executed a clear attempt shortly after. The Eagles responded with their own timeout and clear attempt, but shots by Dague and Katheryn Wilson failed to find the net, with Wilson's effort hitting the post. Hinchcliffe of Akron had a shot saved by Porter in the final minute, maintaining the scoreless overtime.
Akron secured a 10-9 victory over Eastern Michigan, with the decisive moment occurring in the second overtime. Hinchcliffe's draw control set the stage, and after a saved shot by Fletcher, Hinchcliffe found the net at 4:05, marking her 74th goal of the season. This goal proved to be the game-winner, as Akron maintained its lead until the end.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Elaine Jones
"That's a great win for us, but it was a terrific battle between two teams that were very even. We came out ahead today, but give a lot of credit to Eastern. They made us work for it. They're a well-coached team. I'm super proud of our team, especially our Attacker of the Year, Sienna Hinchcliffe, coming through at the end, our defense held.
"'I'm incredibly proud of our offense. I think we stayed with it, but I also give credit to our defense. They held up Eastern Michigan and allowed our offense the ability to win the game. I'm very proud of our team. We're a resilient team. I can't say enough about them.
"Adrianna Califano was amazing in the first half. She was just on fire, I think that really set the tone for us. In our defense, they held multiple times when they could have crumbled, but they gave us the opportunity to get the ball back on offense and win the game.
"It is going to be a challenge (playing UMass), we're thrilled to be back. I think we always wanted to be back, now we have an opportunity to. We get a day of rest, we'll just see what we can do on the next day after a day of rest."
Junior attacker Sienna Hinchcliffe
"All I could do is believe in myself, believe in my teammates, we knew we were gonna win from the start of the game. It didn't matter if we were going into overtime, we were still gonna win it.
"We're just going to take that. We're not afraid. We're going to come. We want what we had last year we want it back, we're just going to put our heart out there.
"I'm definitely proud. I'm excited. I'm excited for the next game, we're going to go out there show them what we got last year."
Akron Top Performers
Kellen Fletcher
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- 2 assists
- 1 draw control
- 1 ground ball
Sienna Hinchcliffe
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- 4 goals
- 11 shots
- 7 shots on goal
Katie Baumer
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- 4 goals
- 6 shots
- 5 shots on goal
- 3 caused turnovers
Adrianna Califano
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- 8 ground balls
- 10 saves
- Faced 28 shots
Eastern Michigan Top Performers
Kelsea Dague
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- 4 goals
- 8 shots
- 5 shots on goal
- 1 player-up goal
Mackenzie Blackwell
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- 3 goals
- 1 player-up goal
- 3 shots on goal
Tracy Grollman
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- 2 goals
- 2 assists
- 3 shots on goal
Maddy Porter
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- 6 ground balls
