CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team is coming off a successful 2-0 weekend and is readying to open the Big Sky Conference portion of their schedule this Friday (Sept. 22) against Sacramento State (5-4-0). The Eagles will also compete against Northern Arizona (5-4-0) the following Sunday, Sept. 24, at noon.
Last Time Out
The Eagles hosted two games last week and came out 2-0, improving their record to 6-4-0. EWU shutout Nevada 4-0, making it the first time Eastern Washington defeated the Wolf Pack since 2000. With the win, the Eagles improved their overall record to 2-2-1 over Nevada. Alexis Stephenson paced EWU with five points, including two goals and an assist, while Jenny Chavez and Delaney Romero also netted goals for Eastern in its second shutout of the season.
The following Sunday, Eastern defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 3-2, marking the first time EWU played and beat a team from the state of New Jersey. After the Knights struck first, Chloe Williams scored two goals within three minutes to give Eastern a 2-1 lead at the half. FDU tied the match in the second half, but Devan Talley scored the game winner in the 86th minute to improve Eastern's record to 5-1 at home this season.
Williams Becomes New Big Sky Leader in Career Points
Against Fairleigh Dickinson, Chloe Williams became the new Big Sky Leader in career points after scoring her 35th career goal, putting her career points to 89. The previous record was held by Amanda Ellsworth from Idaho State (2011-14) with 87 points.
The senior forward went on to score one more goal in the contest, bringing her career points total to 91 along with putting her tied for second overall in the Big Sky with most goals with 36. The current record is held also by Amanda Ellsworth with 39 goals.
Big Sky Leaders
Chloe Williams is currently tied for first place in the Big Sky for most shots with 34, making her the only Eagle leading in a category for the conference. The senior takes an average of 4.6 shots per game, which ranks her 16th in the nation.
As a team, Eastern leads the conference in shots with 150 so far this season. EWU also leads the conference in corner kicks with 63, points (50), goals (19) and is tied for second in assists with 12.
All-Time Series
Against Sacramento State, EWU is currently 8-10-2, dating back to 1998. The last time the Eagles took on the Hornets was on Oct. 2, 2016 at Sacramento State and won 1-0. Head Coach Chad Bodnar is 3-1-0 against the team.
The Eagles are currently 6-13-2 overall against Northern Arizona which also dates back to 1998. The last time EWU took on the Lumberjacks was at the Big Sky Conference Championship in Cheney when the Eagles won via a penalty kick shootout to make them the Big Sky Champions. Since Bodnar took over, Eastern is 2-2-1 against NAU.
Knowing Your Opponent: Sacramento State
Sacramento State is currently 5-4-0 overall with their last win being against CSU Bakersfield (3-1). The team has also had competition against a ranked team, No. 24 Cal, and lost 2-1.
The Hornets average 12.8 shots a game and 1.3 goals during each competition. Freshman forward Kylee Kim-Bustillos leads the team with five goals and one assist.
Sacramento State has four goalkeepers on its roster, but freshman Aaliyah Fesili has been in net the most for the Hornets with playing seven of their games. She currently is 4-3-0 overall and has a .667 saving percentage.
Knowing Your Opponent: Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona is currently 5-4-0 overall with its last game being against New Mexico where the team took a 4-0 loss on Sept. 17. The Lumberjacks take on the University of Idaho on Sept. 22 before playing EWU.
NAU returns to Cheney for the first time since Eastern beat them in the Big Sky Tournament Championship game on a penalty kick shootout, 4-3. Eastern fell to NAU last year in the regular season by a score of 3-1. Less than two weeks later, the two foes met again in the BSC Tournament game in a closely contested 1-1 tie that resulted in Eastern winning its first tournament championship.
NAU averages 13.1 shots a game along with 1.2 goals. Sophomore forward Malia Lyken leads the team with three goals and two assists.
In net for the Lumberjacks is Meghan Dickmann who has a .735 saving percentage and is 5-3-0 overall.
Up Next
After these two home games, the Eagles will close out their seven game home stand against Southern Utah on Oct. 1 at noon. EWU then travels to North Dakota and Northern Colorado to continue Big Sky competition before returning home on Oct. 13 to play Portland State. All home games are complimentary to the public.
