MOSCOW, Idaho – The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team fell 2-1 at Idaho in its last game of the regular season. This marked the first conference loss for the Big Sky Conference Regular Season Champions this season, ending BSC play 8-1-1 overall. EWU falls to 14-5-1 overall, snapping the unbeaten streak of 11 games, which is the best in program history.
"Credit to Idaho who played well tonight. We are focused on next Friday, and will bounce back from tonight," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "We are extremely excited to host the tournament next week."
In the 10th minute, Olivia Baggerly scored her fifth goal of the season when senior goalkeeper Emily Busselman bobbled a save into the back of the net, putting Idaho up 1-0.
About ten minutes later, Saige Lyons took Eastern's first shot on goal but Makayla Presgrave was there to make the save.
In the 33rd minute, EWU responded with the equalizer from Saige Lyons off a long pass from Allison Raniere, tying the game at 1-1.
At the end of the first half, Idaho was outshooting EWU 9-4, marking only the second time Eastern has been outshot this season.
After the half, the Vandals were able to respond within eight minutes with a goal from Anna Rose, after a sliding kick into the corner of the net, putting Idaho in a 2-1 lead.
In the 67th minute, Raniere had a shot on goal, but could not get it past Presgrave. Sariah Keister and Raniere took the last two shots in the game, but both of them were blocked.
The Eagles only had five shots in the second half, adding up to only 10 total compared to Idaho's 14. Busselman ended the game with two saves while Presgrave had three.
Win-Loss Record
Idaho is now 4-5-1 in the Big Sky Conference and improves to 8-9-2 overall. They also lead the overall series now 12-11-1 against EWU.
What it Means
This marks the first loss for the Eagles since Sept. 10 when they lost to CSUN. It also marks their first loss in the Big Sky Conference this year. EWU has already clinched the No. 1 seed and will host the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Nov. 1-5 in Cheney.
Keys to the Game
Eastern was outshot 14-10, marking just the second time they have been outshot this season.
Top Performers
Saige Lyons was the lone Eagle to score and led the team in shots with four total.
Deven Talley and Allison Raniere both recorded two shots and one on goal. Raniere also tallied the one assist in the game.
What's Next
The Big Sky Conference Championship are set for Nov. 1-5 in Cheney. The Eagles are the No. 1 seed and will play the No.4 or 5 seed on Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. in the semifinals round. The championship game is set for Nov. 5 at 1 p.m.
Other teams in the tournament include Montana, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State and Sacramento State.
Any college student with a college ID and children 12 and under have free admission to the games. Tickets are $5 on Wednesday and Friday and $8 for the championship game for everyone else.
