CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team returns to the EWU Soccer Field after a 32-day hiatus this weekend, as the Eagles open Big Sky Conference play with a pair of matches against teams from the Gem State. Eastern starts the two-match weekend with Idaho State on Friday, Sept. 23, before taking on rival Idaho on Sunday, Sept. 25.

Friday's match against the Bengals is slated for a 3 p.m. PST start at the EWU Soccer Field. That match will serve as the Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer Awareness Game, as both squads and officials will be wearing special laces to raise awareness for pediatric cancer. Free pizza will also be given to the first 100 students at Friday's game. Sunday's match against the defending Big Sky champion Vandals is set for 1 p.m. PST.

The Eagles return to Cheney after a successful seven-game road trip that saw the team go 4-1-1 on the trip – the match against Gonzaga was called in the 61st minute with the Eagles leading, 2-1. Overall, EWU boast the best record in the Big Sky entering conference play, as they hold a 6-1-1 mark through eight matches.

All-Time Series

Idaho State: The Eagles know the Bengals all too well with 20 total matches between the opponents. The record currently sits at 7-12-1 in favor of ISU. In the last matchup on Sept. 27, 2015, EWU came out victorious in a 3-2 finish on Idaho State's turf for the first time. Eastern is 6-4 all-time when hosting ISU.

Idaho: The Vandals are a familiar foe as well, holding a 11-9-1 all-time record between the programs. Last season, the Eagles were unbeaten against UI, defeating them at home 2-1 back on Sept. 7 in a non-conference, and then tying with Idaho, 1-1, on the road in the final match of the regular season.

Last Time Out
Eastern Washington ended its season-long, seven-match road trip last Friday, Sept. 16, with a 3-1 win over South Dakota. Sophomore Alexis Stephenson had arguable had her best game in an Eastern uniform against the Coyotes, as she recorded her first collegiate goal in the 45th minute to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead right before the half, and assisted on Kiana Hafferty's goal in the 82nd minute to seal the deal for Eastern.

All-Time Points Leader
Last Friday, Sept. 16, junior Chloe Williams became the program's all-time leader in career points, as her goal in the 16th minute gave her 57 career points, surpassing Cassie Black's previous school-best of 55 set back in 2014.

The accomplishment just adds to an already lengthy resume for Williams, as she is already Eastern's all-time leader in assists (13) and currently ranks second on the all-time goals list with 22, trailing Black's current record of 24.

The reigning Big Sky Player of the Year is making a case to defend that distinction, as she currently leads the conference in points (11), points-per-game (1.38), goals (5), goals-per-game (0.62), shots (30) and shots-per-game (3.75). Williams has been on a tear of late, as she has scored four goals in her last four matches.

Lending a Hand
Junior Aimie Inthoulay enters the opening week of Big Sky play leading the conference in both assists and assists-per-game. The Seattle, Washington native has handed out a total of seven assists in eight matches, which is good enough for a 0.88 assists-per-game average. Both of those numbers put Inthoulay inside the top-3 in NCAA Division I in both categories, as she is tied for second in assists-per-game and tied for third in total assists.

Conference Play Begins
Friday's match marks the opening of the 2016 Big Sky season for the Eagles. Eastern is currently 7-9-2 all-time in conference openers, and will be seeking its second-straight conference opening win after a 2-1 victory at Weber State last season. The last time EWU had won two-straight Big Sky openers came during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

The Eagles are 4-4-0 all-time at home in Big Sky openers, and will look to even its record with Idaho State in conference openers, as they are currently 1-2-1 against the Bengals.

Any Given Sunday
Eastern Washington won't have to wait long in the Big Sky season to play this season's conference favorite, as the Eagles will meet up with the defending Big Sky champs, Idaho, on Sunday at the EWU soccer field. EWU went 1-0-1 against the Vandals last season, picking up a win in non-conference action. The Eagles prevented Idaho from a perfect regular season in conference play last season, as they played to a 1-1 tie in Moscow on the final day of the regular season.

Similar Opponents
Idaho and Eastern have shared similar non-conference schedules this year with EWU outperforming UI in most of the matchups. Recently, the Eagles earned a 3-1 victory at South Dakota, an opponent Idaho visited at the start of the year, losing 1-0.

Back on September 9 and 11, the Eagles took back-to-back games in commanding fashion at Cal State Bakersfield and Saint Mary's, winning each contest 3-1. The Vandals failed to take advantage of the same opponents, tying SMC 0-0 and losing to CSUB 3-2.

Conference Leaders
Eastern has featured a relentless offense this season and finds itself at the top of most statistical categories in the Big Sky. The team leads in points (48), goals (17), and assists (14) and it's not even close. The next highest point total is 19 below EWU's mark, and next best in goals is six.

Individually EWU players hold the top stats in eight categories. Primarily, Chloe Williams leads the conference in shots (30), points (11), and goals (5). Junior Aimie Inthoulay leads the conference in assists with seven, four higher than the next mark. She is currently tied for third in the nation in assists and is second in assists per game at 0.88.

Knowing Your Opponent: Idaho State
The Bengals currently hold a 3-7-0 record and is looking to rid themselves of a three-game losing streak. In its last match, ISU fell to Utah Valley at home 5-1. Idaho State is off to a much better start then its last season, where it finished 1-17-1 and 0-10 in the Big Sky. The head coach Allison Gibson is entering her 11th season with the program and holds an overall record of 70-96-21.

ISU is without First Team All-Big Sky player Maria Sanchez. She led the team with 15 goals and four assists last season as a sophomore, and plays for the Mexico national team. Leading the team in points this season is freshman Michaela Didericksen with three goals on 20 shots coming off the bench.

Knowing Your Opponent: Idaho
Idaho heads in to the matchup with a 3-3-2 record on the season, recently falling to CSUB on the road 3-2. The Vandals finished last season with the top regular season record in the Big Sky at 14-4-3, but would fall to Northern Colorado in the championship game. Head coach Derek Pittman enters his third year with the program and holds a 18-18-5 record.

UI returns all 11 starters and welcomes 10 newcomers to the team. Senior Elexis Schlossarek leads the team with six points (two goals, two assists) on 19 shots. Schlossarek is in a three-way tie for first on the team in goals. Eastern has outscored Idaho 17 to 10 on the season.

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