CHENEY, Wash.-- The Eastern Washington University soccer team continues on their three game road trip as they take on Utah State this Friday (Sept. 14) at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time before heading back to the EWU Soccer Field to take on South Dakota State (Sept. 16) at 1 p.m. in their last non-conference match of the season.
Last Time Out
The Eagles are now 3-3-1 on the 2018 season after topping Colorado State 2-0 last Friday and falling to Denver by a score of 1-0 in double overtime.
The Eagles shutout the Rams 2-0 with goals from
Brittany Delridge and
Brooke Dunbar. Delridge scored her first career goal for the Eagles to give EWU a 1-0 lead over CSU in the 22nd minute of play. Dunbar then scored her first goal of the season in the 86th minute which secured the win for the Eagles.
Eastern then took on the Denver Pioneers (Sept. 9) in Denver where they fell 1-0 in double overtime. The Pioneers outshot the Eagles 17-11, with seven shots on goal.
Despite the loss, EWU goalkeeper
Kelsee Winston saw 107 minutes in net for the Eagles and recorded a career-high of six saves. Winston is now 77th in the nation with goals against average with .775, 95th in the nation in save percentage with .815 and 84th in the nation in shutouts with two.
Get to Know the Eagles
EWU is in third place in the Big Sky Conference standings with a record of 3-3-1, following Northern Colorado who is 4-3 on the year. Eastern still remains in first with total number of shots with 110, averaging 15.71 shots per game.
EWU is in sixth place overall in assists with four, followed by Portland State and Weber State who each have three.
The Eagles lead the conference in corner kicks in the Big Sky with 52 on the season. Eastern ranks 66th in the nation with 15.71 shots per game.
A few Eastern players are ranked within the top ten in shots taken per game in the Big Sky. These Eagles include;
Allison Raniere who is in for third with 17, followed by
Alexis Stephenson who is in sixth with 14, and
Emma Vanderhyden who is tied for seventh with 12 on the year.
Raniere leads the team in shots taken with 17, and has also recorded one goal on the year.
Talley and Vanderhyden both lead the team with six shots on goal with six each, followed by Raniere who has five.
Jenny Chavez,
Brittany Delridge,
Brooke Dunbar,
Devan Talley, and
Emma Vanderhyden also all have one goal each for the Eagles this season.
Knowing Your Opponent: Utah State
Utah State is a part of the Mountain West Conference and they are led by head coach Heather Cairns, who is entering her 16th season as head coach for the Aggies.
USU is currently last overall in the Mountain West Conference as they are 1-4 on the year. USU is ranked 79th in the nation in shots per game with 15 and 45th in the nation in shots on goal with 18.
Friday's match will be the seventh time the Eagles have faced Utah State in program history. The last time EWU played the Aggies the match resulted in an Eagle victory of 3-2 on Aug. 22, 2016 at home.
The Aggies are 1-4 on the year with just one victory over Towson (Sept. 2), and four losses against Sam Houston State 2-0, Minnesota 2-1, Idaho State 5-4 in double overtime, and Utah 3-0.
USU returns their leading scorer from last year in sophomore midfielder Ashley Cardozo. Cardozo was named first-team All-Mountain West and MW All-Newcomer Team as a freshman last season as she led her team with nine goals and six assists. Cardozo is ranked 70th nationally in shots per game with 3.6.
The Aggies also return senior goalkeeper Grace McGuire who has recorded 20 saves on the year.
Utah State brought on freshman Sara Noel this season. Noel is nationally ranked 33rd in goals per game with 0.8, she is 54th in the nation in points per game with 1.6 and 73rd in the nation in total goals with four.
Knowing Your Opponent: South Dakota State
South Dakota State is a part of The Summit League and is led by head coach Brook Thompson, who is now in his second season as head coach. The Jackrabbits are 4-4 overall on the year which is second in The Summit League.
In Thompson's first season as head coach he led the Jackrabbits to a Summit League Regular Season Championship in 2017 with a perfect 7-0 record and was named The Summit League Coach of the Year.
SDSU is ranked 79th nationally with 15 shots per game, 95th in total goals with 12 and 93rd nationally in total assists with 10.
SDSU returns junior forward Leah Manuleleua who was named All-Summit League First Team in 2017. Manuleleua is currently in third in The Summit League in goals on the year with three.
The Jackrabbits also return junior goalie Maggie Smither who is currently in third in the league with 34 saves on the year, ranking her 63rd nationally in saves. Smither is ranked 34th nationally in shutouts with three and was named 2017 Summit League Goalkeeper of the Year, as well as 2017 All-Summit League First Team.
This match marks the third time EWU has faced SDSU in program history. The last time the Eagles saw the Jackrabbits was back in 2010 when Eastern lost 4-3 in double overtime on the road.
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Up Next:
The Eagles open Big Sky play at home next Friday (Sept. 21) when they take on Sacramento State at 3 p.m. Pacific time followed by Sunday's home match (Sept. 23) against Portland State at 1 p.m.
For live tweeting during the games and more information on the soccer team, follow @EWUSoccer on Twitter.
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