CHENEY, Wash. – The 2019 season is just a week away for the Eastern Washington University women's soccer team. The Eagles have been hard at work at fall camp preparing for the upcoming year since Aug. 6 under sixth-year head coach Chad Bodnar.
 
Eastern already has one exhibition under its belt and have been readying for a second and final exhibition on Aug. 17 before opening up the regular season on Aug. 22 at Nevada.
 
"Camp has been great for us. We got to see them play live early which was good because we have a lot of young and new faces and we got to throw them in a game situation early," said Bodnar on his team's camp so far. "We looked at film and saw what we needed to adjust and work on and we've been transitioning that into this week. Training has been good; the energy has been good and we're healthy."
 
The 2019 edition of Eastern Washington soccer is comprised of 19 returners, six of which are returning starters, and 10 fresh new faces that are all energized and ready to begin the season.
 
"The energy that this team brings excites me," noted Bodnar. "They come out in the morning and afternoon and they're excited. Usually throughout the course of a training camp, you can see the energy and effort level go down, but this group isn't like that. They continue to keep bringing it and it's been refreshing."
 
Eastern Washington, who has won a Big Sky Conference Tournament title in two out of the last three seasons, is looking to build on a season that saw an 8-8-3 finish last year. Although the 2018 squad fell short of the goal of winning a third-straight title, the program as a whole has finished above .500 for five seasons in a row and has a standard focused around winning.
 
"We're always going to say we want to win it all. That has to be a standard and what we want to do here," expressed Bodnar. "We're not talking about it every day, we have so far to go between here and tournament time. We have to get to conference play, we have to get to the top and make it to the tournament. There's so much in between that we aren't dwelling on what happens at the end, but that's the standard here and our classes before this have set that tone. It's the expectation and we were far from that last year but that makes our players hungry for it this year."
 
To get to the top of the Big Sky, the Eagles will have to gel and mix their athleticism with technique, something Bodnar has already seen from this year's group.
 
"I think we're technical and we pass better than our teams in the past. We're athletic, but we're technical and can move the ball well," Bodnar notes. "We saw some things in our first game where we were already linking, connecting and moving the ball well after just a few days at camp."
 
MEET THE RETURNERS: The Eagles welcome back 19 returners to this year's edition of EWU Soccer. In addition to a senior class that has collected 37 wins, a Big Sky Regular Season title and two tournament championships during their time as Eagles, the 2019 roster is filled with several underclassmen who logged serious minutes on the pitch last season.
 
Forwards: Although Eastern loses its leading scorer from last season in Jenny Chavez, who scored six goals for the Eagles in 2018, they return a solid number of veterans on the front line including Saige Lyons and Taylor Matheny.
 
Lyons scored three goals last season while Matheny scored one. Brooke Dunbar returns for her senior year after starting eight matches and scoring two goals last season and Sariah Keister returns for her junior season after starting nine games and having both one goal and one assist for the Eagles in 2018.
 
"Brooke Dunbar played one of the best games I've seen her play during our first exhibition. She's really fit and sharp. She's playing well and she's scoring goals. We've been excited with the way she's come back into camp," said Bodnar. "Saige Lyons has been banged up, but she's working her way back in and I'm excited to see her on Saturday. All of our returners have good attitudes and while we have a small senior class, it's a great senior class. They're good people and do the right things off the field and they've brought the energy to camp."
 
Sophomores Megan Drake, who also scored two goals, and Kaelyn Barnes return for the Eagles.
 
Midfielders: Mya Elder-Hammond returns for her sophomore season after playing in all 19 matches last season and recording an assist.
 
"Our midfielders show great stability. They understand the way we want to play. When we're playing and training, the young players already know where we want the ball to go and we're going to get it there. Again, it's a great group of people," said Bodnar. "Mya Elder-Hammond got thrown into the fire as a freshman and she already plays like she's an upperclassman. She thinks like an upperclassman as well and she's been great in our training camp."
 
Joining this group are redshirt sophomore Brittany Delridge and sophomore Vanessa Jones. Delridge played in 15 matches for the Eagles scoring one goal while Jones contributed in five matches last season.
 
Defenders: Grace Klinkenberg, junior for the Eagles, returns to the starting line up along with sophomore Colby Wilson and junior McKaley Goffard. Klinkenberg competed in 18 matches for the Eagles and started in 16 while Wilson played in all 19 matches, starting in 18. Goffard played in 18 with 10 starts.
 
The Eagles welcome back sophomore starter Janae Lee. As a freshman, she assisted the backline at the outside back position and appeared in all 19 matches last season, starting in 17.
 
Brooke Asbury returns for her sophomore season after appearing in eight matches last year.
 
"Our backline has a lot of minutes under their legs and they did great last year. Our centerbacks have been solid and Grace Klinkenberg has come back into form this year, she had a great spring and came into training camp doing well," said Bodnar about the defensive core. "Alyssa McKenzie is a strong centerback and has stepped in and done well. We also add Colby Wilson and Kendall Pope to this group as well as McKaley Goffard. We have depth and maturity and new faces that are adding a lot to the group."
 
Goalkeepers Eastern returns all three goalkeepers in Hadley Bezon, Kelsee Winston and Ryann Rydeen. Winston earned a Big Sky Player Defensive Player of the Week nod twice and appeared in 19 matches during the 2018 season while logging over 1,588 minutes in net. Winston made 76 saves and allowed 15 goals throughout her sophomore season with the Eagles.
 
"Kelsee Winston played most of the minutes last year and she's come back and is sharp," said Bodnar. "Our goalkeeper group is a tight group that works hard and works well together, they push and encourage each other even though they're competing against each other. They're friends and compete on the field, but then they go do their thing. It's a fun group."
 
Bezon, going into her senior season, saw action in three games last season while logging 202 minutes in net. She picked up the victory in Eastern's match against Portland State last season.
 
MEET THE NEWCOMERS: After a busy offseason recruiting, Eastern welcomes 10 newcomers to the program, eight of which are true freshmen and two are transfers. All are expected to help the Eagles soar into the new season.
 
"We started several newcomers in our first exhibition that jumped right in and scored three goals fast. They're a talented freshmen class and have been impressive," said Bodnar. "The best part about this group is that they just work and have smiles on their faces and then they go and do it on the field as well. It's an impressive group that helps raise the bar."

The new Eagles include midfielder Riley Walkington, midfielder Kalista Kakou, midfielder Madison Kem, forward Maddie Morgan, forward Brooke Flores, defender Alyssa McKenzie, midfielder Corina Froehle and defender Elizabeth Thayer.
 
New Eagle transfers consist of sophomore Marissa Mills from Utah Valley and junior Audrey Castillo from Ventura Community College.

In addition, midfielder Mareonna Henderson and forward Kendall Pope return after redshirting last season.
 
All except Thayer saw time in the first exhibition match versus Fraser Valley. Morgan found the back the back of the net twice and McKenzie scored once during the match.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: After a 6-2 victory verses Fraser Valley in its first exhibition match on Aug. 9, Eastern Washington faces Grant MacEwan University at home on Aug. 17 at 1 p.m. at the EWU Soccer Field. This concludes the second and final exhibition match with the regular season set to begin at Nevada on Aug. 22.
 
Grant MacEwan is coached by Dean Cordeiro who is going into his seventh season at the helm. The Griffins compete in the Canada West Conference in Alberta, Canada, along with Fraser Valley. Fifth-year goalkeeper Emily Burns heads into her final season with Grant MacEwan allowing less than one goal per game in her respected career. The Griffins welcome back three more fifth-year players and six four-year players to their 2019 roster.
 
PRESEASON POLL: The Eastern Washington University soccer team is picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky Preseason Poll after finishing sixth in the regular season last year.
 
"Preseason polls are what they are and I respect where we have been selected. It's coaches guessing and looking at what happened last year. We were ranked first last year and snuck in to the tournament the last weekend. We were ranked low the two years before and won three championships," said Bodnar. "We have a strong group of players this year committed to doing well and aren't worried about where we're selected during the preseason. We've had a good first week of camp and I have a lot of confidence in this group. We are looking forward to getting after it for real in a couple of weeks."
 
The Eagles totaled 52 points behind Idaho who had 54 points and ahead of Northern Arizona who had 47. Northern Colorado is predicted to finish first, totaling 76 points and capturing six of the ten first-place votes. Weber State and Sacramento State also received first-place votes.
 
WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR: Eastern Washington finished sixth in the regular season with an overall record of 8-8-3 and had a 4-4-1 record in Big Sky play. The Eagles qualified for their fifth-straight conference tournament, but fell to Northern Colorado in the quarterfinals by a score of 3-1.
 
Three players earned All-Big Sky Honors in 2018. For the first time in their respective careers seniors Maia Inniss and Allison Raniere were both named honorable mention, while senior Jenny Chavez was named to the first team for the third time in her career.

EWU's goalkeeper Kelsee Winston, who returns in 2019, recorded 76 total saves on the year and only allowed 15 goals. Winston had a single-season save percentage of .835 which is second all-time in program history. Together, Winston and Hadley Bezon only allowed 20 goals all season which tied a program record for fewest goals in a single season.
 
As a team, EWU broke a program record of goals scored in a single match in an 8-1 victory over Idaho State on Senior Day. Eastern scored 24 total goals in 2018 which is the seventh-most in program history for goals in a single season.
 
The Eagles took 295 total shots which is to fourth all-time in the EWU record book. The team took 126 total shots on goal which is also fourth and the 112 corner kicks were third. They ranked second in the conference in both total shots and goals and were third in points.
 
BODNAR'S RISE TO THE TOP: Sitting at an overall record of 57-32-11 (.625) after five complete seasons at the helm, head coach Chad Bodnar has the chance to become the all-time winningest coach in EWU soccer history in 2019.
 
He's chasing former head coach George Hageage (2000-13) who has an all-time record of 69-157-20 (.321) after 14 full seasons.
 
The Eagles would need to secure 12 wins for him to tie Hageage and 13 for him to pass. Bodnar has led his Eagles to at least 12 wins in three out of his five seasons as head coach, including a 16-win season in 2017.
 
THE SCHEDULE: The 2019 schedule includes 18 total regular season matches with eight to be played at home.
 
Eastern's non-conference schedule officially begins on Aug. 22 at Nevada. The Eagles also take on Boise State, CSU Bakersfield, CSUN, South Dakota State and South Dakota on the road during the non-conference portion.
 
The first home match for Eastern Washington takes place on Friday, Aug. 30 against SEC opponent Mississippi State. EWU welcomes Colorado State to Cheney the following Sunday and will close the non-conference season with a matchup against North Dakota State, also at home.
 
Eastern Washington plays each Big Sky Conference opponent once, starting on Sept. 27 with preseason favorites Northern Colorado. The match is the first of three-straight at home as Eastern also plays rivals Montana and Idaho during the home stand.
 
The Eagles play at Idaho State and Weber State before the final two matches at home against Southern Utah and Northern Arizona on October 18 and 20, respectively. The regular season closes with matches at Portland State and Sacramento State.
 
The top six teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the 2019 Big Sky Conference Tournament in Greeley, Colo., on Nov. 6-10. Eastern Washington has qualified for the tournament for five-straight seasons under Bodnar.