CHENEY, Wash.—The Eastern Washington University soccer team hosts its final home matches of the season this Friday, Oct. 12 against Weber State and Sunday, Oct. 14 against Idaho State, which is the Eagles' Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Pacific time and 12 p.m. PT, respectively.
GET TO KNOW THE EAGLES: The Eagles are 5-6-3 overall and 1-3-1 in Big Sky play. Eastern leads the conference in total shots with 218 and in corner kicks with 94. EWU is tied for second in the conference with five shutouts and tied for seventh in total goals with 12.
Jenny Chavez leads the Eagles with five points (two goals, one assist), followed by
Allison Raniere and
Brooke Dunbar who each have four points. Raniere leads the team in assists with two, and leads the Big Sky in shots with 41 and shots per game with 2.92 with 17 shots on goal.
Kelsee Winston has handled most of the netminding duties for the Eagles, compiling over 1,160 minutes in goal with 50 saves and only 10 goals allowed. Her save percentage of .833 is first in the Big Sky and she is also tied for second with five shutouts.
SENIOR WEEKEND: Prior to Sunday's match, the Eagles will honor five members of its 2018 senior class.
Jenny Chavez,
Allison Raniere,
Alexis Stephenson,
Megan Spataro and
Devan Talley are members of Bodnar's second recruiting class. So far, the group amassed an overall record of 46-21-11 (.660) which is second in program history in wins by a senior class. They were instrumental in bringing Eastern back-to-back Big Sky tournament titles, a regular season title and two trips to the NCAA College Cup.
LAST TIME OUT: EWU played the Idaho Vandals to a loss of 1-0 in Moscow, Idaho on Sunday (Oct. 7). The Vandals scored their lone goal of the match in the 23
rd minute and EWU was not able to answer back. The Eagles outshot UI 19-8 with seven shots on goal, led by
Jenny Chavez who had three shots on goal.
Kelsee Winston made four saves in the effort.
GET TO KNOW WEBER STATE: Weber State is the top team in the Big Sky Conference, having already clinched a spot in the tournament with an overall record of 7-3-4. They are currently unbeaten in Big Sky play with a 5-0-1 record. Weber State comes to the Eagles fresh off of a win against Montana, 2-1 (Oct. 7).
Weber State returns senior Morgan Quarnberg who leads the Wildcats in total goals with five on the season. Quarnberg has recorded 12 total points on the season and has taken 20 total shots. Olivia Barton is in second in the conference in total goals on the season with three and 12 total points. Barton, a freshman, has taken 15 total shots for the Wildcats this season, eight of which were shots on goal.
The Wildcats average 4.0 points per game which is second in the conference. They have scored 17 goals which is also second and average 1.21 goals per game, but have allowed 12 goals this season.
SERIES HISTORY: Friday marks the 23
rd all-time meeting between the Eagles and the Wildcats. Eastern trails the all-time series, 9-13-0, but have won seven out of the last 10. The Eagles are riding a four-match win streak over WSU, all of which came under head coach
Chad Bodnar who has never lost to Weber State (4-0-0).
Last season, the two teams met in Ogden, Utah, where Eastern came from behind to win 2-1. In the last four meetings, the Eagles have outscored the Wildcats, 12-3.
GET TO KNOW IDAHO STATE: Idaho State is 2-11 on the year and 1-5 in conference play, ranking them eighth in the Big Sky standings. The Bengals are coming off of losses against Montana (1-0) and Northern Colorado (5-0). ISU makes a stop at Idaho on Friday before coming to Cheney.
Delaney Johnston leads the Bengals in total goals on the year with three. She has taken 18 total shots and has recorded six total points. The Bengals return junior Makena Bambei who is in second in total goals scored on the year for ISU with two. Bambei has taken 37 total shots, 15 of which were shots on goal.
Idaho State is third in the Big Sky with 14.31 shots per game. The Bengals have allowed 43 goals this season, but are second in saves in the conference with 69.
SERIES HISTORY: Sunday is the 23
rd all-time meeting between the two programs, with Eastern trailing the all-time series, 9-12-1. The Eagles have won six out of the last 10 matchups, including the last three. EWU is 3-1-0 all-time against the Bengals under Bodnar.
Last season, Eastern topped ISU 4-2 in Pocatello. During the three-match win streak, Eastern has outscored the Bengals 10-4.
UP NEXT: Following their two home matches at the EWU Soccer Field this weekend, the Eagles head out for the final regular season matches against Northern Arizona (Oct. 19) and Southern Utah (Oct. 21).
The Eagles are still fighting for a spot in the Big Sky Conference Championships that take place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 in Ogden, Utah. With the hosts Weber State already clinching a spot, only five of the total six spots remain.
For live tweeting during the games and more information on the soccer team, follow @EWUSoccer on Twitter.
