East Michigan News

Eastern Michigan University (EMU) has announced its 2024 soccer schedule, featuring 11 Mid-American Conference (MAC) matches and seven out-of-conference games, along with two exhibitions. The announcement was made by first-year Head Coach Taylor Clarke on Wednesday, July 10.

The regular season will commence against Oakland University on August 15, followed by a significant match against the University of Cincinnati on September 1, marking EMU's first-ever game against the Bearcats. The non-conference slate concludes at Loyola University Chicago on September 15.

EMU will host five of its 11 MAC match-ups at home, beginning with the conference opener against Central Michigan University on September 19. The top six teams in the MAC standings will qualify for the conference tournament, culminating in Eastern's final regular-season match at the University of Akron on October 31.

The MAC tournament format includes a quarterfinal round at campus sites on November 3. The top two teams will bypass this round and advance directly to the semifinals, scheduled for November 7, followed by the MAC Championship on November 10.

"We are very excited about the competition in the upcoming season," said Clarke. "Our non-conference will be a great set of games to help us prepare for our conference play."

Notable points include:

- EMU is set to face three in-state opponents during regular-season action: Oakland (August 15), Central Michigan (September 19), and Western Michigan (October 13). This season marks only the second time since 2000 that EMU will not play a road match within Michigan.

- The Eagles will play three of their first four matches at home: hosting Oakland (August 15), Youngstown State (August 25), and Purdue Fort Wayne (August 29), interrupted only by an away game at UIC on August 22. This is a first since starting with three straight home matches in 2012.

- All four non-conference road matches are outside Michigan. The longest trip is to Chicago, Illinois (251 miles), which is also their shortest long-distance trip since visiting Youngstown State in Ohio (225 miles) in 1999.