CHENEY, Wash.—The Eastern Washington University soccer team heads out for two road matches starting this Friday (Sept. 7) as they take on Colorado State at 3 p.m. Pacific time, and then Denver (Sept. 9) at 11 a.m. PT. These matches are the first of two on a three-game road swing.
The Eagles are now 2-2-1 on the 2018 season after last Friday's loss against Boise State.
Last Time Out
Eastern hosted the Boise State Broncos (Aug. 31) at the EWU Soccer Field where they fell 2-0. The Broncos outshot the Eagles 10-7, marking the first match EWU has been out shot by any of their opponents thus far.
Despite the loss, EWU goalkeeper
Kelsee Winston saw 90 minutes in the net for the Eagles and recorded a career high of five saves.
The Eagles saw a few opportunities for a goal with corner kicks throughout the match against the Broncos. At the end of the match EWU had recorded six total corner kicks.
Eastern's loss against the Broncos broke the 12 straight unbeaten home streak for the Eagles. EWU's last loss at home dated back to Sept. 10, 2017 when they fell to CSUN 2-0.
Big Sky Leaders
EWU is in second place in the Big Sky Conference standings as they are now 2-2-1, following Northern Arizona who is 3-1-1 on the year. Eastern still remains in first with total number of shots with 86, averaging 17.20 shots per game.
EWU is tied for fifth overall in assists with three, along with Idaho State. The Eagles lead in corner kicks within the Big Sky with 43 on the season.
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 tied for third with 13, followed by
Alexis Stephenson who is tied for fifth with 12, and
Jenny Chavez who is in seventh with 10 shots.
Devan Talley and
Emma Vanderhyden are both tied for eighth with nine on the year.
Knowing Your Opponent: Colorado State
Colorado State is a part of the Mountain West Conference and they are led by head coach Bill Hempen, who has been the Rams head coach since 2013. CSU is currently ranked sixth overall in the Mountain West Conference.
Friday's match will be only the second time the Eagles have ever faced Colorado State in program history. The last time EWU played CSU the match resulted in an Eagle victory of 2-0 on Sept. 21, 2014.
The Rams are 1-1-2 on the year with a 2-1 victory over Northern Colorado (Aug. 23), a 1-0 loss against Northern Iowa (Aug. 26), and two ties against Denver and Colorado.
CSU returns goalkeeper Hunter Peifer who has recently been named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 20), as well as earning Mountain West All-Newcomer Team in 2017. Peifer is currently tied for first in the MWC in shutouts with one and second in saves with 22.
Knowing Your Opponent: Denver
The University of Denver is a part of The Summit League and is led by head coach Jeff Hooker, who is now in his 27th season as head coach.
Hooker led the Pioneers to a Summit League Regular Season Championship in 2016 as well as a Summit League Tournament title in 2017.
The Pioneers are the only team the Eagles play this season that also made it to the NCAA College Cup last season.
Denver is 2-2-2 on the year and ranked sixth in The Summit League. The Pioneers have victories over Florida International 5-0, and Columbia 2-1, with losses against Colorado College 2-0 and Florida Atlantic 2-1. Denver also has two ties with Colorado State 1-1 and a draw against Iowa State this season.
The Pioneers return midfielder Hannah Adler who was named Summit League First Team in 2017, Summit League Offensive Player of the Week in Aug. 2017, and Summit League Freshman of the Year in 2016. Adler has recorded six points on the year with two goals against Colorado State and Columbia University, along with two assists against FIU. The junior has taken 10 shots overall on the season, three of them on goal.
Although this match will be the first time EWU has faced Denver, the Eagles have played several other teams within The Summit League making their record 10-4-2 overall.
Up Next:
After their match against Denver on Sept. 9 the Eagles will then face Utah State (Sept. 14) on the road before returning to the EWU Soccer Field to host South Dakota State on Sept. 16.
For live tweeting during the games and more information on the soccer team, follow @EWUSoccer on Twitter.
