Missoula, MONT. -- The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team fell 3-1 to Air Force today (Aug. 27) in the final day of the Montana Cup. With the loss, EWU falls to 2-2-0 and Air Force improves to 1-3-0. During the match, the Eagles received two red cards which resulted in Eastern ending the game with only nine players on the field.
"Overall, it was a rough weekend for us on the road. We conceded a goal today in the second minute and played most of the game with one, then two, less players due to red cards. I didn't do a good enough job preparing our players for the weekend," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "It's time to prepare for our matches on the East coast and get better this week."
Air Force scored quickly as Kaitlyn Cook scored a goal in the second minute of the competition by a putback off a blocked shot assisted by Emma Nelson, making it 1-0 in favor of the Falcons.
In the 15th minute, redshirt sophomore Maia Inniss took a header shot on goal but could not notch it into the back of the net. The next shot on goal for the Eagles came in the 41st minute when senior Savannah Hoekstra tried to get it past goalkeeper Jennifer Hiddink.
The Eagles outshot Air Force 7-5 in the first half, but the Falcons' lone goal was the difference maker as they went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Going into the second half, the Eagles had only ten players on the field but still had an offensive presence as they took the first two shots. In the 55th minute, redshirt senior Delaney Romero took a shot on goal but it resulted in another save by the goalkeeper for Air Force.
Eastern scored a goal with a putback off a shot off the right post by junior Alexis Stephenson in the 61st minute for her second goal of the season. Freshman Emma Vanderhyden was credited with the assist following a set piece and the score was evened at 1-1.
Air Force responded quickly in the 68th minute with a chip shot goal from 20 yards out by Kristen Shimkus, giving the Falcons their lead back, 2-1.
In the 77th minute, Air Force scored another goal with a putback off a save by Erin Speer with an assist by Taylor Cobb, increasing the Falcons' lead to 3-1 which was eventually the end score of the match.
Despite being down two players by the end of the game, the Eagles still outshout the Falcons 22-15 with six of those shots being on goal. Junior Allison Raniere and senior Chloe Williams led the team in shots with both having four. Hoesktra was right behind them with three shots.
Sophomore Hadley Bezon started in net for the Eagles with freshman Kelsee Winston finishing off the game. Winston had two saves in her 12 minutes in net. Jennifer Hiddink was in net the whole time for the Falcons.
Win-Loss Record
Eastern Washington falls to 2-2-0 on the year, while Air Force advances to 1-3-0. The Falcons improve their series record against EWU to 2-0-1. Prior to this contest, the last matchup between the two teams was on Aug. 31, 2012 at the Academy ending in a 0-0 tie after double overtime.
What it Means
This marks the second loss of the season in a nonconference game for the Eagles and makes the team 0-2 in the Montana Cup.
Keys to the Game
The Eagles were able to outshoot 22-15 their opponent despite being down two players.
Twelve different Eagles had shots for the team, with six of them also having at least one shot on goal.
Top Performers
Alexis Stephenson scored the lone goal for EWU, her second of the season. She is now EWU's leader in goals scored.
Chloe Williams was one of the leaders for shots in a game for the fourth game in a row with four shots.
Junior Megan Spataro competed the whole 90 minutes for Eastern in the backfield.
Notables
This was just the third time that Eastern and Air Force competed against each other.
The Eagles have been able to outshoot every opponent so far this season.
What's Next
EWU travels to New York to take on Hofstra and Cornell next on Aug. 31 and Sept 3. Eastern returns home on Sept. 8 when it takes on Gonzaga to kick off seven straight home matches.
