OMAHA, Neb. -- The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team will finally conclude its near month-long road trip this week with a pair of weekday matches in the Midwest, as the Eagles will take on Omaha on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 5 p.m. PST, followed by a match with South Dakota on Friday, Sept. 16, at 2 p.m. PST.

The Eagles will be flying high into to the Great Plains, as they bring a two-game winning streak into this week's pair of contests that has pushed its overall record to 5-1-0. These two matches represent the final leg of a season-long seven-match road

trip that began back on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas.

Eastern Washington got off to a quick start in both of its matches in California last week, as they picked up a pair of 3-1 decisions at Cal State Bakersfield and at Saint Mary's. Five of the six the goals that Eastern scored last weekend came within the first 15 minutes of each match.

Omaha enters Wednesday's match on a three-game losing streak. They dropped a 2-1 decision to Dayton last Sunday, Sept. 11, to fall to 2-4-0 on the year. South Dakota also enters this weekend with a sub-.500 record at 1-5-1. The Coyotes lone win is a signature one, as they defeated the defending Big Sky champion, and preseason favorite, Idaho, 1-0, in their season opener.

Last Time Out
Similar to its victory against CSUB, the first half was defined by an offensive explosion in the opening minutes. Freshman defender Maia Inniss opened the scoring with her first collegiate goal in the seventh minute off a pass from junior Aimie Inthoulay.

It was after SMC's Jordyn Cunningham tied the match in the 12^th minute that the flood gates opened. The Eagles immediately answered the Gaels with junior Savannah Hoekstra pressuring the goal with a shot, allowing junior Chloe Williams to score off the Saint Mary's save, giving Eastern a 2-1 lead in the 13^th minute. Two minute later, freshman Brooke Dunbar would score her first collegiate goal on an unassisted shot. From this point on the defense clamped down on SMC's offensive efforts, and holding the EWU lead for the rest of the contest.

Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week
After scoring three goals on the weekend to lead Eastern Washington University's women's soccer to a perfect 2-0-0 mark last week, junior forward Chloe Williams has been named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week, which the league office announced on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

It is the first Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honor for Williams this season, and it is the third time that she has earned the distinction during her EWU career. Williams tallied a conference-best four points this past week with a trio of scores to help the Eagles of 2-0-0 on their trip to California.

Leading the Nation in Assists
Junior Aimie Inthoulay is tied for the lead in assists and assists-per-game in all of NCAA Division I entering the fourth week of the 2016 season. The Seattle, Washington native is tied with Florida's three-time All-American, Savannah Jordan, with seven total assists and a 1.17 assists-per-game average. The junior would be leading the nation in both categories if not for a no-contest against Gonzaga, as she handed out an assist in the Sept. 2 matchup against the Bulldogs before it was called due to inclement weather.

The Eagles midfielder entered this season without an assist at Eastern Washington, though she handed out four during her freshman season at Texas-Pan American. Inthoulay is just one assist shy of tying Chloe Williams' single-season record at Eastern, which was set last season. Earlier this season, she set the school's single-match record for assists, with three against UC Davis, earning her the second Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week over her career.

Fast Starts
A clear game plan for the Eagles these past two games has been getting off to a quick offensive start. In the last two games combined, EWU has scored five goals in the first 15 minutes of match. The only goals scored in the second half for Eastern and its opponents last week was Chloe Williams' in the 49th minute on Friday and CSUB's goal just one minute earlier.

The strategy has paid off; resulting in two of EWU's most dominant wins. The Eagles have held onto a two goal lead for most of the action, while the defense focuses on shutting down the opposition.

Perfect Passing
In the last four games, Junior Aimie Inthoulay seems to be involved in every scoring opportunity for Eastern, working as the Eagles' primary offensive distributor. In just the last three games, Inthoulay has recorded six assists, including a record-breaking three-assist game at UC Davis and a two assist-game against Cal State Bakersfield. Inthoulay leads the team with seven assists, six assists ahead of the next best.

Return to Form
After going scoreless since the first game of the season, forward Chloe Williams has been making up for lost time with three goals in last week's contests. She earned her first multi-goal game of the season against the Roadrunners on Friday and scored the tie-breaking goal against the Gaels on Sunday. On the season, Williams has nine points with four goals and one assist.

All-Time Series

Omaha: It will be unfamiliar territory for Eastern with its first match against Omaha and its first match against an opponent from Nebraska.

South Dakota: The Eagles have played the Coyotes twice in program history with the series record at 1-1. USD won the last contest 4-3 in overtime on Sept. 17, 2010.

Knowing Your Opponent: Omaha
Omaha is coming off a 5-11-2 season and went 2-6 in the Summit League. This year the Mavericks are 2-4 with wins against UMKC and North Dakota. The head coach Don Klosterman is entering their 18th year with the program and owns a 216-112-18 record.

UNO returns eight starters with six newcomers. Omaha lost a key starter in Chelsi Rholoff who was the leading scorer last season with 15 points. Junior Carlie Cook is off to a strong start with a team-leading 10 points on four goals and two assists.

Knowing Your Opponent: South Dakota
USD went 8-12 in last year's season and 5-3 in the Summit League. This season the team is off to a 1-5-1 start with its latest match being a loss against the Creighton Bluejays. Head coach Mandy Green will be entering her seventh season with the program and holds a 31-73-15 record.

The team returns six starters including its leading scorer from last year, senior Corey Strang, who scored 11 goals and five assists. She once again leads the team in points this season with one goal and one assist.

For more information on the Eastern Washington soccer team, follow @EWUSoccer on Twitter.