GREELEY, Colo. – The Eastern Washington University soccer shutout Northern Colorado 2-0 today (Oct. 6) to remain undefeated in the Big Sky Conference. With this win, the Eagles improve to 10-4-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the  conference. Northern Colorado is now 9-6 overall with a 3-3 conference record.

"Today was a great result against a good UNC team with tough travel. Our back line and goal keeping were solid and we finished the chances that were presented to us. Our midfield defended and passed the ball well today," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "The road trip as a whole showed a toughness in our group to get two wins with tough travel. We continue to grow and get better in different areas as a team each week and I'm extremely proud of our whole team."
 
In the 21st minute, senior Chloe Williams took the first shot on goal with a save by Madeline Burdick. Five minutes later, junior Allison Raniere took another shot on goal, but Burdick added one more save.
 
The Eagles went into halftime tied 0-0 with the Bears and were outshooting UNC 9-2.
 
Northern Colorado took a shot on goal within four seconds coming out of halftime, but senior goalkeeper Emily Busselman was in net for EWU and came up with the save.
 
In the 51st minute, Taylor Bray took a header shot for the Bears but Busselman was there to collect another save to keep UNC off the scoreboard.
 
In the 60th minute, Saige Lyons took a shot from outside of the box and scored into the lower right corner for the Eagles with an assist by Devan Talley, giving EWU a 1-0 lead with thirty minutes left to play.
 
Less than ten minutes later, Jenny Chavez took a shot from 40 feet away from the box, netting it into the upper 90 to help give Eastern a 2-0 lead. This marked the senior's fifth goal of the season and sealed the win for the Eagles.
 
Busselman was in net for the whole 90 minutes for Eastern Washington and had four saves on the day. Burdick was in net for the Bears and collected three saves.
 
The Eagles outshot UNC 15-8. This marks the 15th game in a row that Eastern has outshot their opponent.
 
Win-Loss Record
EWU improves to 10-4-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the Big Sky Conference. The win takes the Eagle's away record to 3-1 on the year. Northern Colorado falls to 9-6 on the year and 3-3 in the conference.

Northern Colorado still leads the overall series at 7-4-3. With this win, head coach Chad Bodnar earns his first win against UNC since he took over in 2014.
 
What it Means
Eastern Washington is the only team left in the Big Sky Conference to remain undefeated and is currently sitting in first place.

EWU had a successful road trip as they come out 2-0 on the weekend after previously defeating North Dakota 2-1 in overtime on Friday, Oct. 6.

Keys to the Game
The Eagles scored twice within ten minutes to secure a win over Northern Colorado.
 
EWU remained aggressive as the team outshot UNC 15-8.
 
The defense was able to only allow the Bear's to take three shots on goal throughout 90 minutes while Eastern took six.
 
Top Performers
Saige Lyons scored the first goal of the game, putting Eastern Washington in a 1-0 lead.
 
Jenny Chavez sealed the victory for the Eagles with a goal less than ten minutes later, marking her fifth goal of the year. The senior also led the team in shots with four, one of those being on goal.
 
Emily Busselman earned her fourth shutout of the year and her seventh victory in net.
 
Notables
This is EWU's first victory over UNC since Oct. 26, 2008 when the team won 1-0 at home.
 
The Eagles continued their streak of outshooting their opponents with taking 15 shots compared to the Bears' eight.
 
Eastern is now the lone undefeated team in the Big Sky Conference with a 4-0-1 record.
 
With this win, head coach Chad Bodnar earned his first win over Northern Colorado as he was previously 0-2-1 against the team.
 
What's 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.