LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team could not pull off back-to-back late game comebacks as it fell to UNLV 3-1 on Sunday, August 28.

UNLV broke into the scoring column early with an unassisted goal by Dakota Blazak in the seventh minute, and followed it up with another goal by Blazak just three minutes later. Eastern needed to put together its own answer to the Rebels' early scoring, and junior Delaney Romero came through with a 14^th minute shot that found the back of the net.

After the burst of scoring in the opening minutes, the match would remain 2-1 in favor of UNLV until an 85^th minute goal from the Rebels would end the Eagles' afternoon, handing them their first loss on the season.

"We started the game well, then I think the heat wore us down", said head coach Chad Bodnar.

"We knew it was going to be hot this weekend even when we scheduled a tournament in Las Vegas during the offseason. We knew what we were getting into. It was hard to recover from what we did on Friday, but we pushed really hard and still had some chances at the equalizer. We pushed up trying to get that tie late, but we wore down. It's really tough to play that way in this heat."

Win-Loss Records
Eastern Washington falls to 3-1-0 on the season, while UNLV improves to 4-0-0.

What it Means
EWU's historic run to start the season finally came to a close after three thrilling victories kicked off its 2016-17 season.

Keys to the Game
Eagle's goalkeeper, senior Mallory Taylor, kept the match within grasp for EWU, recording six saves.
Eastern could not match UNLV's offensive pressure, collecting eight shots in the contest compared to 18 for the Rebels.

Top Performers
Delaney Romero scored her first goal of the season on an unassisted shot. In total she had two shots on goal.

Mallory Taylor limited the UNLV scoring to just three by pulling down six saves.

Junior Aimie Inthoulay also put all two of her shots on goal.

Turning Point
The EWU defense was holding strong until the 85^th minute when UNLV's Susie Bernal scored a goal, giving the Eagles little time to mount a comeback, clinching the match.

Team Highlights
After two goals within 10 minutes of the game starting, the Eastern defense stifled the Rebels' offensive momentum, keeping them scoreless for 75 minutes of play.

Notables
With the UNLV Invitational finished, three Eastern players were chosen for the all-tournament team, junior Chloe Williams, Delaney Romero, and freshman Saige Lyons.

Today's match was the first time the two programs have faced each other on the pitch, as UNLV will now have the series lead at 1-0.

Romero's goal marked her first points on the season. She now has four total goals in her Eastern career, tying her for 22^nd on the all-time list.

After her six saves today, Mallory Taylor now has 102 career saves at EWU, placing her eighth on the all-time saves list. She is 20 saves away from tying the seventh place mark made by Ashley Renz (2007-08).

Taylor has also passed Renz for sixth all-time on the minutes play list.

Bodnar Bites
"There a good team. We're not going to make any excuses about it, we didn't have a great day today. It is what it is. We gave up two quick goals again on the counter and we made some passing errors. We need to get better in those areas."

"We want to win them all, and sometimes that's not possible. I think our players showed a lot of resiliency in tough conditions, and I think at the end of the day we ran out of gas. We showed mental toughness all weekend. We got down 2-0 on Friday and game back and won in overtime, and after falling behind 2-0 again today, Delaney Romero got us on the board and we gave it our all to try and get that second goal. Hopefully that toughness will help us out later on in the year."

What's Next
Eastern Washington plays its next match in Spokane, Wash., against Gonzaga on Friday, Sept. 2 starting at 6 p.m. PST.

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