CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team is hosting their final two home matches this week. The Eagles face Portland State on Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. and then Montana on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. for Senior Day. All home games are complimentary to the public.
Last Time Out
EWU has remained perfect in the Big Sky Conference so far after going 2-0 on a road trip to North Dakota and Northern Colorado. The wins improved Eastern's conference record to 4-0-1 and 10-4-1 overall.
In their 2-1 overtime win in North Dakota,
Aimie Inthoulay scored within four minutes of the game to give Eastern an early 1-0 lead over the Fighting Hawks. It was not until the 66th minute when UND scored the equalizer which eventually sent the game into overtime.
Emma Vanderhyden scored the game winning goal in the fifth minute of extra time, marking her first collegiate goal and giving Eastern the win. Senior goalkeeper
Emily Busselman also tied her career high of five saves in a game.
At Northern Colorado, the Eagles earned a 2-0 shutout win over the Bears, their first win against UNC since Oct. 26, 2008. Despite not scoring in the first half of the game,
Saige Lyons scored in the 60th minute to put EWU in a 1-0 lead with 30 minutes left to play. Less than ten minutes later,
Jenny Chavez scored to help seal the 2-0 victory for Eastern.
During both matches, the Eagles outshot their opponents. This marks the 15th game in a row that EWU has done so.
Get to Know Your Eagles
Eastern Washington is 10-4-1 overall and have a 7-1-1 record at home so far this season. The Eagles have a 3-1-0 record on the road while also going 0-2 at a neutral site. EWU is currently in first place in the conference with 13 points and a 4-0-1 record, making them the only team left undefeated in the Big Sky. The Eagles are led by senior
Chloe Williams who has tallied 13 points and six goals. Right behind her is
Jenny Chavez with five goals and 10 points. Leading in assists are
Aimie Inthoulay and
Devan Talley who both have three.
Senior
Emily Busselman has been handling most of the netminding duties this season as she has logged 880 minutes in goal. She has only allowed seven goals on 71 shots faced, making 25 saves. Busselman has a save percentage of .781 to go along with her record of 8-1-1, that includes four and a half shutouts. Her goals against average of .716 ranks 50th in the nation.
As a team, the Eagles take 18.93 shots per game, ranking seventh in the nation. The team only allows their opponents to strike an average of 8.5 times in a match.
Senior Day
There are going to be 10 seniors honored for Senior Day on Oct. 15 before the Montana game including:
Emily Busselman,
M'Kenna Hayes,
Savannah Hoekstra,
Aimie Inthoulay,
Abby Klinkenberg,
Lexi Klinkenberg,
Kiley Norkus,
Delaney Romero,
Josie Self and
Chloe Williams.
This group of seniors have made their marks in the record books for Eastern Washington. In team single-match records, the group broke the most goals with six against North Dakota on Oct. 23, 2016. During the same game, the team also had the most assists (6), points (18), shots on goal (21) and corner kicks (15).
The seniors also made history with most wins in two seasons (25) and the most in three (33). The most wins in one season also came in 2016 (13) and 2015 (12).
Since the group had entered in 2014, Eastern has made three appearances in the Big Sky Conference Championship, with its first showing since 2009. In 2014 and 2015, the Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals but could not earn their first win in a post season game.
In 2016, EWU won its first Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament Title in program history after defeating Montana in the quarterfinals, Idaho in the semifinals and Northern Arizona in the final game in a shootout. The team went on to play in its first NCAA Tournament game against the No. 2 seeded University of Southern California.
Williams Looks to Become New Big Sky Leader in Career Goals
With
Chloe Williams' goal against Southern Utah, she is now one goal away from tying the All-Time Career Goals in the Big Sky with 38 total. In first place is Amanda Ellsworth from Idaho State (2011-14) with 39.
Williams is currently the leader in the All-Time Career Points in the Big Sky with 95 points, the first student athlete to ever break 90 in the Big Sky Conference. She became the new leader when she scored a goal against Fairleigh Dickinson on Sept. 17, increasing her points to 89 and surpassed Ellsworth's 87 points.
Big Sky Leaders
Eastern Washington is currently leading the Big Sky in shots (284), points (84), goals (31), goals per game (2.07), assists (22), assists per game (1.47) and corners (114). They are also tied for most shutouts in the league with six. As a team, they rank in the top-100 nationally in several categories including: corners per game (7th, 7.6), shots per game (7th, 18.93), goals (22nd, 31), points (34th, 85), scoring offense (42nd, 2.07), shots on goal per game (41st, 7.53), points per game (51st, 5.67), assists per game (83rd, 1.53) and assists (83rd, 23).
Individually,
Chloe Williams is leading the conference in shots with 71 and shots per game with 4.73. The senior also ranks 112th in the nation with six goals, 10th in shots per game with 4.73, and 88th in shots on goal per game with 1.60.
All-Time Series
The series against Portland State dates back to 1998 with PSU leading the series 12-6-2. Last year, the game ended in a 0-0 tie after double overtime. The last time the Eagles defeated the Vikings was back in 2015 with a 1-0 win at home. Head coach
Chad Bodnar is currently 1-1-1 against Portland State.
Montana is currently leading the overall series 14-5-1 dating back to 1998. Last year, EWU defeated the Grizzlies at home with a 1-0 victory in the Big Sky Conference Championship on Nov. 2, 2016. Montana had previously defeated Eastern 3-2 in overtime during the regular season on Oct. 28. The win marked the first time Eastern defeated Montana since 2009. Bodnar currently has a 1-3-0 record against the Grizzlies.
Knowing Your Opponent: Portland State
PSU is currently in second place in the Big Sky Conference, with 12 points, making the team just one point away from tying with Eastern Washington. The Vikings are currently 7-6-0 overall and 4-1 in the conference. Their one loss in the conference was against Weber State. They have defeated Southern Utah (2-0), Idaho State (2-1), Northern Arizona (1-0) and most recently Sacramento State (2-1).
The Vikings have also lost to Gonzaga (2-1), when the Eagles defeated GU 2-1 earlier in the season.
Portland State is led by senior Katie Forsee who has eight goals and three assists, good for 19 points. Her eight goals rank her 39th in the nation as well. She leads the Big Sky in points (19), points per game (1.46), goals (8), goals per game (.62) and game-winning goals (5).
In net for the Vikings is Abbie Faingold who has a .792 saving percentage with a 7-6-0 record. PSU averages 14.1 shots a game while their opponents also average 14.1.
Knowing Your Opponent: Montana
Montana is currently in third place in the Big Sky with 10 points and a 3-1-1 conference record. Overall, the Grizzlies have gone 8-5-2 on the year.
Their only loss in conference was against Idaho State in a 1-0 decision. They have tied with Weber State (1-1) along with defeating Sacramento State (1-0), Northern Arizona (2-1) and Southern Utah (1-0). Montana takes on Idaho on Oct. 13 before traveling to Eastern Washington.
The Grizzlies had a tough nonconference schedule as they took on No. 14 Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon and Washington State. The team has a win against Air Force and San Jose State, both teams that EWU could not beat earlier this year.
Montana is led Alexa Coyle with three goals and one assist, good for seven points. As a team, they average 12.6 shots a game while their opponents average 11.1.
In net for the Grizzlies is Claire Howard with a .804 saving percentage and a 7-5-2 record.
Up Next
The Eagles close out the regular season on the road against Idaho State, Weber State and Idaho. The Big Sky Conference Championship is set for Nov. 1-5 at the site of the regular season champion.
