CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team continues their home stand this week as they take on Nevada (1-5-0) on Friday, Sept. 15 at 3:30 p.m. and Fairleigh Dickinson (2-5-1) the following Sunday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. This marks the end of nonconfernece play as the Eagles open up the Big Sky portion of their schedule at home on Sept. 22 against Sacramento State.
Last Time Out
The Eagles hosted two games last week and came out 1-1, improving their record to 4-4-0. EWU defeated Gonzaga University 2-1 for the first victory over the Bulldogs since 2002. It marked the first time Eastern has beat GU in Cheney in program history.
The following Sunday, EWU fell to CSUN 2-0, marking the first time Eastern has been shutout at home since Oct. 18, 2015.
Williams Looks to Become New Big Sky Leader in Career Points
Senior forward Chloe Williams could break the Big Sky record in career points this Friday with either a goal or an assist, as she needs just one more point to become the new leader. With her goal against Cornell,
Williams is currently tied with Amanda Ellsworth from Idaho State (2011-14) for the Big Sky record in career points with 87. It also marked Williams' 34th goal, which ties her for No. 4 all-time in the Big Sky. She is now one goal away from a tie for third and two away from second place.
Big Sky Leaders
So far this season, the Eagles have also been able to outshoot every opponent they have faced. This has put them in first place in the Big Sky with 150 shots so far this season, with an average of 18.8 per game. The team also leads the conference in corner kicks with 63, averaging 7.9 per game, good for sixth in the nation.
Chloe Williams is also tied for first place in the conference and ranks 26th nationally in shots with 34. The forward averages 4.3 shots a game.
All-Time Series
Eastern Washington is currently 1-2-1 against Nevada with the last game being played on Aug. 30, 2013 when the Eagles lost 2-0 at home.
This will be the first time EWU will take on Fairleigh Dickinson. Eastern has also never played a program from New Jersey and is 0-1-0 all-time against schools in the Northeast Conference.
Knowing Your Opponent: Nevada
Nevada is currently 1-5-0 overall with their one win against Big Sky's Sacramento State. The Wolf Pack is familiar with the Big Sky Conference as they have lost to Northern Arizona (1-0), Portland State (1-0) and Southern Utah (2-1).
Freshman forward Rachel Gensch has scored two of the team's four goals. Lauryn Horstdaniel handles the netminding duties, she has made 35 saves and allowed 10 goals for a save percentage of .778. Nevada takes an average of 11.5 shots per contest while allowing their opponents to take 14.5.
Knowing Your Opponent: Fairleigh Dickinson
The Knights are 2-5-1 overall with wins against Hartford and Rider. They also play Gonzaga University before taking on EWU on Sept. 15.
FDU has scored 12 goals this season, averaging 1.5 per game while taking 13.1 shots a contest. Elma Kilenovic leads the team with four goals and Viktoria Miseljic has seven points, including three goals and one assist. In net, Amanda Fitzgerald has made 33 saves while only allowing 11 goals for a save percentage of .750.
Up Next:
These two games are going to be the last of the nonconference games for EWU. The Eagles open up Big Sky Conference play at home versus Sacramento State on Sept. 22 at 3 p.m. There will also be games on Sept. 24 against Northern Arizona and Oct. 1 against Southern Utah to close out Eastern's seven home game streak.
