CHENEY, Wash. -- For the first time in three years, the Eastern Washington University women's soccer team will open its season with back-to-back home games, as they host Grand Canyon and Utah State at the EWU Soccer Field. The Eagles open the season with the Lopes on Friday, Aug. 19, at 3 p.m. before closing the two-match stretch with the Aggies on Monday, Aug. 22, at 12 p.m.
Eastern is coming off of what is arguable its finest season on the pitch, as they set the school single-season record in wins (12), conference wins (6), longest winning streak (8) and most goals scored (34). EWU finished the year at 12-4-3 overall and 6-2-2 in the Big Sky to finish third in the conference standings. Expectations will be high this season for Eastern Washington, as they enter the third year under Chad Bodnar ranked as the No. 2 team in the Big Sky Preseason Poll.
Last Time Out
The Eagles got four second-half goals to score a 4-1 come-from-behind victory over the University of British Columbia in exhibition action last Saturday at the EWU Soccer Field.
The defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) champions didn't allow a single shot from the home team in the first half, and they broke through with a goal in the 39th minute to take a 1-0 lead into the intermission. Eastern Washington subbed in its projected starting 11 in the second half and exploded for four goals in the final 45 minutes of play. Junior Savannah Hoekstra scored two goals in the 63rd and 64th minutes that were scored 48 seconds apart, while junior Chloe Williams netted a goal in the 70th minute and sophomore Jenny Chavez headed in the final Eagle tally in the 86th.
All-Time Series
Grand Canyon: Friday's meeting will mark the first time that Eastern and GCU have hooked up on the pitch. The Lopes became an NCAA Division I member in 2013 and play in the Western Athletic Conference. Grand Canyon has posted a 20-30-4 mark in its three Division I seasons.
Utah State: Monday's matchup between the Eagles and the Aggies could serve as a tie breaker in the all-time series between the two programs, as they are deadlocked at 3-3-0 through six meetings. The two schools have alternated wins since the first match up on Sept. 30, 2000, when Eastern won 1-0 in Cheney. It's been nearly four years since EWU last saw Utah State, as in the last meeting the Aggies were victorious, 1-0, in a neutral site game in Portland on Sept. 7, 2012.
Season-Opening Matches
2016 will mark the 19th season for women's soccer at Eastern Washington. EWU is 3-14-1 all-time in season openers, collecting a 2-1 victory at UTEP in last season's opener. Friday's contest against Grand Canyon will also be just the fourth time in program history that Eastern opens its season in Cheney. The Eagles are 1-2-0 in season openers at home, winning its first season-opening home match, 4-1, against McNeese State in the 2009 opener. Eastern last opened the season at home in 2013, when they fell 1-0 to Gonzaga in Chad Bodnar's debut contest.
Great Expectations
After a season in which saw the Eagles set several program records, expectations have rising. With all 11 starters back on the pitch from its 12-win campaign, EWU earned its highest-ever preseason ranking in the Big Sky Preseason Soccer Poll, as they earned 81 points and picked up two first-place votes to come in at No. 2 in the poll.
Rapid Fire
Junior Savannah Hoekstra accomplished an amazing feat in last Saturday's exhibition, as she scored two goals in a matter of 48 seconds of game time. The Liberty Lake, Washington native clinked the left post to angle in her first goal in the 63rd minute and then pulled in a deflection on a Chloe Williams' shot attempt to poke in Eastern's go-ahead-goal in the 64th minute.
Hoekstra enters her junior season already ranked inside the Top 10 of Eastern Washington's all-time goals, assists and points list. She is third all-time on the assists list with nine, while she is seventh in points with 25 and tied for ninth in goals with eight. She also looks to become just the eighth player in program history to score double-digit career goals this season.
Williams Chasing Immortality
Junior Chloe Williams opens 2016 looking to knock down some impressive records at Eastern Washington. The Spokane, Washington native as already become the program's all-time leader in assists in just two seasons, but she is looking to have her name atop the school's all-time goals and points list as well.
Entering the season, the reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year is second on Eastern's career points list with 46, trailing Cassie Black's (2011-14) current record of 55. Williams is also tied for second in goals with Brittany Sparks (2006-10) and Whitney Brannan (2008-11), who all have 17, which is seven away from Black's program-record 24 goals.
This Team Could Be DEEP
Head coach Chad Bodnar has stated that the 2016 recruiting class was brought to Cheney to provide depth and push the 11 starters that are returning from last season's 12-win squad.
He backed up that statement in the exhibition contest last Saturday, as a remarkable 30 players saw action against British Columbia. Of those 30, eight players were making their EWU debut.
Knowing Your Opponent: Grand Canyon
The Lopes are coming off a 7-9-3 campaign. Last season was just the third at the NCAA Division I level for Grand Canyon, as they were elevated up from NCAA Division II in 2013. GCU head coach Derek Leader will be making his debut with the program on Friday after spending the last three seasons as head coach at Georgia State. The Lopes were selected fifth in the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Poll.
Grand Canyon returns 22 players from last season's squad, which includes junior goalkeeper Blakely Fraasch and junior forward Milla Benedetti, who were each named to the All-WAC preseason team. Fraasch ranked third in the WAC last season with 91 saves and her .785 save percentage was fourth-best in the conference. She combined for four shutouts last season for the Lopes. Benedetti led the team with 16 points thanks to seven goals and two assists. She fired 56 shots and was on target for 28 of those.
GCU dropped its lone exhibition match at UC Riverside, 4-1, last Sunday.
Knowing Your Opponent: Utah State
The Aggies are coming off a 10-8-2 season where they went 5-5-1 in the Mountain West Conference. USU is going into its 15th season under head coach Heather Cairns. The veteran coach is Utah State's winningest coach, as she has amassed a 133-101-34 (.560) record in 14 seasons. The Aggies were projected seventh in the Mountain West Preseason Poll.
Utah State returns nine starters from last season's 10-win squad. Senior Jessica Brooksby returns after leading the team with 12 goals last season. The Aggies also return eight players who scored a goal last season, however, they will be looking for a new goalkeeper after the graduation of Jeannie Woller, who ended her career second on the school's all-time save lists with 245.
USU tied Southern Utah, 1-1, in an exhibition match last Saturday. Utah State struck first with a goal from Wesley Hamblin in the 71st minute, but SUU would score the equalizer in the 87th minute. The exhibition match did not feature the two 10-minute overtime periods.
For more information on the Eastern Washington women's soccer team, follow @EWUSoccer on Twitter.
