CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team closed out seven straight home games with a 4-0 win over Southern Utah, marking its first win over SUU at home. With this victory, EWU improves to 8-4-1 (2-0-1) on the year while SUU falls 2-10-0 (1-3-0). This also marks the third shutout in a row for Eastern Washington as they extend their unbeaten streak to five matches.
It only took 18 minutes for the Eagles to get on the scoreboard when senior forward Chloe Williams scored from inside the box following an assist from Devan Talley, putting Eastern ahead 1-0.
That was the lone goal of the first half as Eastern Washington headed into halftime with a one goal lead while also outshooting the Thunderbirds 18-3.
Within five minutes of the second half, the Eagles scored again when Allison Raniere found the ball inside the box from M'Kenna Hayes and headed it into the lower 90, giving Eastern a 2-0 lead. The assist from Hayes marked her first career point.
In the 71st minute, Jenny Chavez scored a header goal following a corner kick dished out by Hayes, putting Eastern in a 3-0 lead. It marked Hayes' second assist of the game, good for two career points for the senior.
Shortly after the goal, Chavez scored again in the 76th minute with an assist from Emma Vanderhyden which also followed a corner kick, helping seal the 4-0 victory for the Eagles.
Eastern Washington outshot Southern Utah 30-5 and took 13 shots on goal, marking the highest shots taken this season. With this win, EWU also continues its streak for outshooting every opponent so far this year.
In net for the Eagles was senior Emily Busselman, who improves to 6-1-1 on the year and collects her third shutout with two saves on the day.
For the Thunderbirds, Kaitlyn Caldera was in net and collected nine saves on the day.
Win-Loss Record
EWU improves to 7-4-1 on the year and stays undefeated in the Big Sky Conference at 2-0-1. The win takes the Eagle's home record to 7-1-1 so far this season. Southern Utah was coming off a win over Idaho on Sept. 29, but is now 2-10-0 and 1-3-0 in the conference.
EWU improved its overall record against SUU and is now leading it 4-2-1.
Seven Straight Home Games
Eastern Washington had a record setting seven straight home games and went 5-1-1 during the stretch. The Eagles were able to collect four shutouts and stayed undefeated in conference on their home pitch.
Overall at home, EWU is 7-1-1 and has collected five total shutouts on the year.
What it Means
This marks the first time the Eagles have been able to defeat Southern Utah at home as they were previously 0-2 against the Thunderbirds in Cheney.
Eastern Washington is the only team to remain undefeated in the Big Sky Conference, which puts the team in first place overall. The win pushes EWU ahead of Northern Arizona, who is 3-1 in the conference, with their one loss against EWU.
The Eagles continued their streak of outshooting every opponent so far this year as they collected 30 shots, a season high for the team.
Keys to the Game
EWU was able to score early in the game and held its lead for the entire 90 minutes.
The Eagles took 13 shots on goal compared to SUU only having two.
Eastern held the Thunderbirds to only five shots when they usually average 7.10 shots a game.
Top Performers
M'Kenna Hayes had two assists on the day, marking her first two career points.
Jenny Chavez scored two times for the Eagles including a header shot.
Chloe Williams scored her 38th career goal and Allison Raniere scored her third goal of the season.
Notables
This win takes head coach Chad Bodnar's overall home record to 25-7-6 since he took over in 2014.
Chloe Williams scored her 38th career goal, putting her only one goal away from tying the All-Time Career Goals in the Big Sky. Amanda Ellsworth from Idaho State (2011-14) holds the record with 39.
The Eagles now have a 7-1-1 home record for this season.
Bodnar Bites
On the improvement throughout the season: I think we're clicking and getting better every game. We've focused on individual, little things as the weeks have progressed and we are seeing some great performances from a lot of our younger players. The senior leadership has been good and Emily Busselman has been huge for us goal. She has made some key saves in all of these games during our home stand that could have changed the result one way or another. I have to give credit to our backline too, overall our team has been performing very well.
On scoring eight goals in two matches: I think the goals are there, just some days it doesn't go in for you. The goal scoring ability is there and we have talent up top and when they click and move the ball and run off each other I think we're a lot more successful than when we're just pumping balls forward. Our play has been good up top and it's been good in the back and we are focusing on one game at a time. We have a tough road stretch coming up and we're happy with what we've done here, but we're always looking to improve going forward.
On what the team has learned throughout the home stand: We've learned a lot about our team not just in this home stand, but over the last three years. We know what we have here, and we've added some freshman that have come in a helped and provided depth. We're figuring things out and moving people into different spots. Devan Talley has played more as an attacking role when previously she had been more of a holding midfielder for us. We've always known she's a good player and we can only do that because Emma Vanderhyden has stepped in as a freshman and played really the past few games.
It's our job to find where the pieces all go. I think we are starting to hone in on that a little bit but it's all credit to the kids. Their attitude has been great and they've worked hard in training and they want to do well. It's a good group of kids and they're starting to click at the right time.
What's Next
The Eagles will continue Big Sky competition as they travel to North Dakota on Oct. 6 and to Northern Colorado on Oct. 8. Eastern will return to Cheney to close out their home games on Oct. 13 against Portland State and on Oct. 15 against Montana.
