CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team is hitting the road for the first time since Sept. 3 after hosting seven games in Cheney. EWU will face North Dakota (4-5-3, 2-2) on Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. Pacific time and then Northern Colorado (8-5, 2-2) on Oct. 8 also at 11 a.m. PT.
Last Time Out
The Eagles continued to have success in the Big Sky Conference with a 4-0 win over Southern Utah. The win improved Eastern's record to 2-0-1 in the conference with EWU being the only team undefeated in Big Sky play.
In their 4-0 win against the Thunderbirds, Chloe Williams scored the first goal with an assist from Devan Talley to put the Eagles in an early 1-0 lead. In the second half, EWU scored three more goals, two of those coming from Jenny Chavez. The other goal came from Allison Raniere. M'Kenna Hayes tallied her first career points with two assists.
The shutout victory marked Emily Busselman's third shutout of the year and Eastern's fifth shutout overall. The Eagles outshot SUU 30-5, increasing their streak of outshooting their opponents to 13 games in a row. The 30 shots, 13 on goal, were season-highs for the Eagles.
Get to Know Your Eagles
Eastern Washington is 8-4-1 overall and have a 7-1-1 record at home so far this season. The Eagles have a 1-1-0 record on the road while also going 0-2 at a neutral site. EWU is currently in second place in the conference with seven points and a 2-0-1 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 scored six goals. Close behind her is junior Alexis Stephenson, who has nine points after netting four goals this season with an assist. Aimie Inthoulay, Devan Talley and Savannah Hoekstra each have three assists. Williams leads the team by a wide margin in shots (62) and shots on goal (21) for a shots on goal percentage of .339.
Senior Emily Busselman has been handling most of the netminding duties this season as she has logged 695 minutes in goal. She has only allowed six goals on 52 shots faced, making 17 saves. Busselman has a save percentage of .739 to go along with her record of 6-1-1, that includes three shutouts. Her goals against average of .777 ranks 65th in the nation.
As a team, the Eagles take 18.85 shots per game, ranking 11th in the nation. The team only allows their opponents to strike an average of 8.2 times in a match.
Chavez Wins Offensive Big Sky Player of the Week
After netting two goals in a shutout victory over Southern Utah, Eastern Washington University soccer player Jenny Chavez has earned Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. The junior earned the award for the first time in her career.
Chavez scored twice within five minutes to help put away the 4-0 victory over the Thunderbirds. Both goals were netted following corner kicks. Chavez headed the ball into the back of the net following a corner from M'Kenna Hayes in the 72nd minute before connecting again in the 77th off of another corner from Emma Vanderhyden.
Her two goals in a single-match (four points) set a new career high for the Newhall, Calif., native. On the day, she took four shots, three on goal, in 80 minutes of action.
This is the second Big Sky Player of the Week honor for the Eagles this season, as freshman Kelsee Winston received the inaugural defensive player of the week on Aug. 22.
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 (245), points (73), goals (27), assists (20), goals per game (2.08), and corners (95). As a team, they rank in the top-100 nationally in several categories including: corners per game (10th, 7.31), shots per game (11th, 18.85), goals (26th, 27), points (35th, 74), scoring offense (44th, 2.08), shots on goal per game (43rd, 7.62), points per game (53rd, 5.69), assists per game (79th, 1.54) and assists (63rd, 20).
Individually, Chloe Williams is leading the conference in shots with 62. The senior also ranks 67th in the nation with six goals, 14th in shots per game with 4.77, and 89th in shots on goal per game with 1.62.
All-Time Series
The series against North Dakota dates back to 2012 with EWU leading the series 4-1-0. Last year, the Eagles won 6-1 at UND, setting a new program record for goals in a single match. Head coach Chad Bodnar is currently 3-0 against the Fighting Hawks.
Northern Colorado is currently leading the overall series 7-3-3 dating back to 2004. Last year, EWU lost 3-2 at home against the Bears. The Eagles have not defeated UNC since Oct. 26, 2008 when they won 1-0 at home. Bodnar is seeking his first win against Northern Colorado as he is 0-2-1 since taking over in 2014.
Knowing Your Opponent: North Dakota
UND is tied for third place in the Big Sky with six points. The Fighting Hawks are currently 4-5-3 overall with a 2-2 conference record. North Dakota has beat Idaho State (2-0) and Weber State (1-0) while also falling to Sacramento State (3-0) and Northern Arizona (1-0), which are both teams EWU have previously defeated this year.
The Fighting Hawks also competed against Omaha, where they tied 0-0. Eastern defeated Omaha 4-0 in its first game of the year.
North Dakota is led by Katie Moller who has six goals and one assist, good for 13 points. As a team, the Fighting Hawks average 10.8 shots a game while their opponents average 22.2.
In net for UND for the majority of the season has been Catherine Klein, with a .894 saving percentage and a 3-3-2 record.
Knowing Your Opponent: Northern Colorado
Northern Colorado is also tied for third place with six points in the Big Sky. The Bears are currently 8-5-0 overall with a 2-2 conference record. UNC has defeated Sacramento State (1-0) and Weber State (1-0) in the Big Sky while also losing to Northern Arizona (1-0) and Idaho State (2-1). UNC had a tough nonconference schedule as they took on TCU, Wyoming and South Dakota State, which were all losses for the Bears.
UNC is led by Brooke Braden who has five goals and four assists, good for 14 points. Right behind her is Mariel Gutierrez with four goals and five assists, adding up to 13 points.
In net for Northern Colorado has been Madeline Burdick, with a .852 saving percentage and a 8-4-0 record.
The Bears will be taking on Idaho (4-6-2, 0-2-1) before EWU on Oct. 6.
Up Next
Eastern will return to Cheney to close out their home games on Oct. 13 against Portland State and on Oct. 15 against Montana for Senior Day. The Eagles will then 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.
