CHENEY, Wash. -- The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team won its 2016 season opener in thrilling fashion, as reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year Chloe Williams scored the game-winning goal in the fifth minute of overtime to give her team a 1-0 victory over Grand Canyon University on Friday afternoon.
Extra time would be needed to determine an outcome in the 2016 season opener for both teams, as the Eagles and the Lopes were knotted up at 0-0 after 90 minutes of play. Eastern was awarded a corner kick early in the 95th minute, and elected on junior Aimie Inthoulay to deliver the set piece. Inthoulay sent the ball into the far side of the 18-yard box, where sophomore Jenny Chavez flicked the ball towards the goal where it would roll in front of the goal line. A scramble ensued in front of the net and Williams would corral in the loose ball and put it into the back of the net to score the 1-0 victory for EWU.
Win-Loss Record: Eastern Washington moves to 1-0-0 on the year, while Grand Canyon falls to 0-1-0. It is just the second season-opening home victory in program history for Eastern, as the Eagles are now 2-2-0 all-time in season openers at the EWU Soccer Field.
What it Means: Today's victory gives Eastern Washington a chance for just it's second-ever 2-0-0 start in program history. You won't have to look far back into the record book to find the last time EWU started the year with back-to-back victories, as last season the Eagles went on the road to open the year and came back to Cheney with a pair of victories over UTEP and New Mexico State.
Keys to the Game: The Eagles defense had an answer to nearly every Grand Canyon attack on Friday afternoon. A key play came in the 72nd minute when junior M'Kenna Hayes blocked two-straight shots just steps away from the six-yard box.
Senior goalkeeper Mallory Taylor worked hard in between the posts to pick up her third career shutout. The Bridgewater, Nova Scotia native made a spectacular diving saving to prevent a GCU shot from squeaking into the upper 90.
Top Performers: Junior Chloe Williams and sophomore Devan Talley each had a team-best three shots on the day. Williams was able to connect on her third and final attempt of the afternoon in the 95th minute to give Eastern Washington the win.
Senior goalkeeper Mallory Taylor collected her third clean sheet at Eastern. The Canadian native tallied four saves on the afternoon.
Turning Point: In the 95th minute, Eastern Washington was awarded its eighth corner of the afternoon. Junior Aimie Inthoulay took the corner and played it off the head of sophomore Jenny Chavez, who headed it straight into the ground right in front of the goal line. Junior Chloe Williams would eventually pick up the loose ball and flick it into the net to give EWU the victory.
Team Highlights: Though it won't show up in the stat sheet, the back four for the Eagles played top-notch defense throughout the day. Eastern's defense constantly blocked Grand Canyon's shot attempts in-or-near the 18-yard box. A big moment came in the 36th minute, as the Lopes had a free kick just a foot outside the penalty area. EWU's wall stood tall and they were able to clear the ball back into the midfield.
Milestones & Records: Today's victory marks just the second time in program history that Eastern has won its season-opener in Cheney. The last time came on Aug. 29, 2009, when the Eagles defeated McNeese State, 4-1. Eastern is now 2-2-0 all-time in season openers played on its pitch.
Chloe Williams' goal today breaks a three-way tie for second on Eastern's all-time goals list. The Spokane native was previously tied with Brittany Sparks (2006-10) and Whitney Brannan (2008-11) for second all time, as each player had 17 goals. Williams 18 career tallies pulls here within six goals of Cassie Black's career record of 24.
Today marked the first assist at Eastern Washington for both junior Aimie Inthoulay and sophomore Jenny Chavez. For Chavez, it is her ninth career point after she collected eight last season thanks to four goals. While for Inthoulay, she now has five career points at Eastern Washington, and 21 for her collegiate career, as she collected 16 points (6 g, 4 a) in her freshman season at Texas-Pan American.
Notables: Today's victory marks the 21st victory for Eastern Washington under head coach Chad Bodnar. Eastern now has a winning record at home under Bodnar, as the win pushes his career home record to 8-7-1.
The 1-0 victory gives Eastern its second-straight season-opening victory and it is the fourth season-opening win in program history.
Chloe Williams scored her sixth career game-winning goal, which breaks a tie with Cyeeta Mott (2004-07) for second on the program's all-time list. Williams' goal also pushes her career points total to 48, putting her just seven points away from tying Cassie Black's (2011-14) record of 55.
The four saves from Mallory Taylor now gives her 89 for her Eastern career. The Canadian is just two saves shy from eighth place on the team's all-time saves list, which is currently held by Lisa Dimak (2009-10).
Bodnar Bites: On the victory: "Getting that first win out of the way is always good. I thought in the first half we had a couple of chances, but we weren't able to finish inside the six-yard box. This was a dog fight. Grand Canyon is a physical team and sat in a bit and tried to make us break them down. It was great our kids were able to fight through and come out on the right side of the scoreboard."
On Picking Up the Second Season-Opening Win at Home: "We want to win them all, and maybe that is impossible, but that's our mindset. It was hot today, which is good prep for next week's games in Las Vegas, but they fought through and beat a team that didn't want to back down."
Scoring on a Corner for the Second-Straight Game: "We practice those in training and set pieces wins a lot of games as you see today. Aimie is talented at putting it in the right spots. Last Saturday, she found Jenny and today she gets the ball to Chloe and she finishes."
On Williams Game-Winner: "It was a good service from Aimie. Jenny got her head on it, and found Chloe who was isolated in the back corner. (Chloe) played a lot of minutes today and she had tired legs, so credit to her for being able to finish."
What's Next: Eastern Washington looks for its second-straight 2-0-0 start, as they host Utah State out of the Mountain West Conference for a Monday afternoon matinee. The Aggies were victorious on the road in their season opener, as they defeated South Dakota State, 1-0. USU got a goal in the 85th minute from Jessica Brooksby. Kickoff from the EWU Soccer Field is set for 12 p.m.
Tweet of the Game:
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