RENO, Nev. - The Eastern Washington University soccer team opened the season 1-0 after an overtime victory at Nevada today (Aug. 22) following a golden goal from Sariah Keister.

The golden goal came in the 95^th minute of the match when Keister headed the ball into the back of the net following a corner kick from Riley Walkington.

The Eagles put on the pressure within the first minute of overtime, taking two shots right away before Walkington, a freshman, delivered the assist to Keister. Walkington came off the bench for the Eagles and recorded three shots on goal during the match.

"Today was a gritty win on a really tough field to play on against a determined, physical team. The field and the opponent's style of play didn't suit us at all and we had some wide-eyed newcomers who didn't start the best, but finished well," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "Anytime you're on the road it's nice to get a result any way you can. We showed a lot of heart to find that final goal to finish the game. Sariah continues to score goals for us and we definitely needed that finish from her today. A clean sheet from our backs and Kelsee, and a win to start the season, is a positive. We will regroup and get after the rest of the weekend and try to fix the things we need to fix."

Eastern got out shot in the first half but had four chances to score from corner kicks. The team goalkeeper Kelsee Winston managed to secure four saves and kept a clean sheet going into halftime.

Winston tied her career-high in saves with eight, five of which came in the second half, to help secure a shutout against Nevada.

Following halftime, the Eagles put up four back-to-back shots, three of which were on target, but could not find the net before the second period ended.
Nevada put up seven shots between the 80^th and 90^th minute but could not manage to get any past Winston.

Nevada outshot the Eagles 21-10 and had eight on target versus Eastern's six.

Win Loss Record
The Eagles are 1-0-0 to start the 2019 season while Nevada falls to 0-1-0.

What it Means
This is the fifth-straight year Eastern starts the season off with a victory and the second-straight year that EWU starts its season off with an overtime victory from a corner kick.

What's Next
The Eagles will face Boise State on the road on this Sunday, Aug. 25, at 12 p.m. Pacific time before returning home to face Mississippi State on Aug. 30.