CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University soccer squad hosted Southern Utah today (Oct. 18) to a 3-0 victory on the EWU Soccer Field. The Eagles have won four-straight conference matches having shutout their last three opponents.

"Things are looking up and this is a different group than we saw during non-conference play. The non-conference season helped us, and after we went through a little bit of a rough patch, we adjusted and changed our shape and have been doing well," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "It's all coming together at the right time. We talk about how the conference season really matters and our team has been doing a great job."

The first goal came early for the Eagles as Taylor Matheny found space in EWU's attacking third to sling a shot that deflected to Brooke Dunbar's feet. Dunbar settled the ball and slotted it into the upper right corner to gain a 1-0 lead in the 10^th minute of the match. She scored her fourth goal of the season and ninth-career goal.

Following the goal, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds attempted to respond with two shots in the 15^th and 17^th minute but the first shot sailed wide right and the second flew over the crossbar.

The Eagles found themselves another opportunity to score in the 28^th minute when Sariah Keister found Brittany Delridge on a through ball to lead her into the goalie box. Delridge, a redshirt sophomore, collected the ball and chipped it over the SUU's goalkeeper, Isabella Whitmore.

After the Eagles went ahead 2-0, they found themselves a third goal four minutes later following an Eastern corner kick. The ball bounced to Dunbar's feet as she passed it to Delridge who headed the ball into the back of the net. Delridge scored her second goal of the match, third goal on the season and fourth career goal.

As the halftime whistle blew, the score remained 3-0 in EWU's favor.

In the second half, the Eagles outshot the Thunderbirds 8-1 and found a promising opportunity to score in the 87^th minute but the shot was saved and the match ended 3-0 in their favor.

EWU's three-straight shutout streak marks the first time since 2017 and the third time since 2007 to have three shutouts in a row.

Win-Loss Record

The Eagles advance to 7-5-2 with an unbeaten conference record of 4-0-1 while the Thunderbirds now have an overall record of 0-13-1 with a conference record of 0-5-1. The all-time series moves to 6-2-1 for Eastern and 4-1-1 for Chad Bodnar since being at the helm. EWU has won their last three matches versus SUU, out-scoring the Thunderbirds 9-0.  

Key Stats

The Eagles outshot the Thunderbirds 14-3 landing five shots on target versus SUU's zero. Eastern had seven different players who took a shot and nine corner kicks to Southern Utah's zero.

Top Performances

Kelsee Winston recorded her fourth shutout of the season and 12^th of her career.

Brittany Delridge scored two goals and Brooke Dunbar scored one goal and had one assist. Sariah Keister took four shots and had one assist and Taylor Matheny recorded one assist.

Notables

The Eagles have recorded 14 assists thus far which marks ninth in program history for total assists in a single season, as the squad still has four regular season matches remaining. They have scored 22 goals which puts them at eighth for total single season goals, taken 85 shots on target which marks 10th overall in a single season, and they have recorded 86 corners which is fifth most in a single season in EWU history.  

Eastern has a five-game unbeaten streak which is fifth-longest in EWU history and a five-game unbeaten conference record which is third-longest in program history. Additionally, Kelsee Winston recorded her fourth shutout of the season to place her tied for sixth for most shutouts in a single season. She has 12 total shutouts in her career which ties Tiera Como's (2003-06) first-place spot for total career shutouts in program history.

What's Next

The Eagles host Northern Arizona this Sunday, Oct. 20 at 12 p.m. at the EWU Soccer Field.

Prior to the match, Hadley Bezon, Saige Lyons, Brooke Dunbar and Ryann Rydeen will be honored for Senior Day.