CHENEY, Wash.—The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team played the Southern Utah Thunderbirds today (Oct. 21) in Cedar City, Utah to a victory of 2-0. Jenny Chavez's penalty kick and an insurance goal from Saige Lyons lifted EWU to the victory. With the win, Eastern clinches its fifth-straight Big Sky Conference Tournament berth and has a chance to defend its back-to-back tournament titles on Oct. 31 - Nov. 4.

"We're extremely proud of our team having to dig in and win three games back-to-back-to-back to qualify for another conference tournament. I'm proud of our program because that's five conference tournament qualifications in a row," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "We've worked extremely hard to dig ourselves out of a rough start, but we're excited we get another opportunity to play in a week and a half."
 
The Eagles took the first shot of the match from senior Allison Raniere but her shot was saved by the Thunderbirds' keeper Kaitlyn Caldera. Southern Utah's best chance of the half came In the 20^th minute of play when SUU's Devri Hartle attempted a header but Eagles' goalkeeper Kelsee Winston was there for the save.
 
Both teams attempted numerous shots in the first half, but after 45 minutes of play the score remained a 0-0 draw. At halftime, SUU outshot EWU seven to five with five shots on goal. The Thunderbird keeper recorded four saves in the first half, while Winston had five.
 
After returning from halftime, Raniere took the first opportunity but the ball sailed high and no goal was recorded. McKaley Goffard sent a header towards the SUU's goalie in the 54^th minute of play but her shot hit the crossbar.
 
In the 69^th minute, Raniere sent a ball to Saige Lyons who was fouled in the box and drew a penalty kick for Eastern. Senior Jenny Chavez took the penalty kick for the Eagles and scored her fifth goal of the season, giving EWU the 1-0 advantage.
 
SUU's MaKenzie Lawrence tried to answer back to the Eagles goal with her shot in the 71^st minute but her shot went wide and right.
 
In the 87^th minute of play junior Saige Lyons netted the Eagles' second goal of the match, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead over the Thunderbirds.
 
After a full 90 minutes of play, the Thunderbirds couldn't respond and Eastern picked up a 2-0 shutout victory and a Big Sky Tournament berth. EWU outshot SUU 17-12 with 10 shots on goal and two corner kicks.

Raniere led the team in total shots taken with six, three of which were shots on goal, followed by Lyons and Chavez who both recorded a goal for the Eagles in their victory over SUU today. Winston recorded her seventh shutout and made a career-high eight saves.
 
Win-Loss Record
The Eagles now have an overall record of 8-7-3 and are 4-4-1 in Big Sky play. The Thunderbirds now sit at 2-15-1 overall record and 1-7-1 in conference play after today's match, ending their regular season.
 
Eastern Washington is now 5-2-1 all-time against Southern Utah and have never suffered a loss to the Thunderbirds in Cedar City.

Keys to the Game
Jenny Chavez scored the Eagles' first goal in the 69^th minute of play off of a penalty kick. Saige Lyons scored EWU's second goal of the match in the 87^th minute of play. EWU's goalie Kelsee Winston recorded 90 minutes in the net and had a career high of eight saves in today's match.
 
Notables
Kelsee Winston recorded a career-high of eight saves in today's match. Jenny Chavez scored her fifth goal of the season and the 22nd of her career to rank third all-time in EWU goals in career history. It was also her 46th career point, which is also third all-time. Saige Lyons' goal was her third of the season.
 
Eastern Washington ended the regular season on a three-match win streak to quality for their fifth-straight BSC Tournament.
 
What's Next
Eastern Washington will now wait for its seeding and opponent for the 2018 Big Sky Conference Tournament, released later today (Oct. 21). The tournament takes place in Ogden, Utah on Oct. 31 - Nov. 4 with the top six teams qualifying.

For live tweeting during the games and more information on the soccer team, follow @EWUSoccer on Twitter.