CHENEY, Wash. - The Eastern Washington University soccer team competed at home against Mississippi State to a 1-0 deficit today (Aug. 30). The Eagles had five shots on target during the match but were unable to find the back of the net.

"I thought we moved the ball and defended very well, especially after last week at Boise State. For large period of time, we were the better side. We created chances in the second half, but couldn't finish. Overall, that's a good team that we just played and we had a good performance," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "We're not one for moral victories, we want to win, especially at home. We were close and we're playing a tough schedule to start the season. For starting five freshmen and try to gel, there's not much to complain about. In the first half, we got pulled out of midfield and got score on, but for the rest of the game I thought it was pretty even."

The lone goal came in the 15th minute for the Mississippi State Bulldogs when senior MaKayla Waldner received the ball from a give-and-go with Monigo Karnley and put the ball in the bottom right corner. Karnley helped Waldner record her third goal of the season for the Bulldogs.

The Eagles responded with two shots to try and tie the game but headed into halftime down 1-0.

Eastern returned from the half battling valiantly, as they put up six shots in the second half, but could not find any success before the final whistle blew.

The effort and physicality of the match was present, as the Eagles had two yellow cards in the first half while the Bulldogs picked up two yellow cards late in the second half. Eastern recorded 17 fouls while Mississippi State recorded 20.

Win Loss Record

After today's match, the Eagles are now 1-2-0 overall while Mississippi State advances to 2-1-0.

Key Stats

The Eagles had four players who had at least one shot on target while recording ten shots total, five of which were on goal. Kelsee Winston recorded five saves during the match while Mississippi State also recorded five saves.

What's Next

The Eagles play at home this Sunday, Sept. 1 against Colorado State at 1 p.m. After Sunday's match, EWU will be on the road for its next four matches before returning home on Sept. 20.

More Comments from Head Coach Bodnar

On the Defensive and Goalkeeper's Play: "We put Marissa Mills and Grace Klinkenberg in the back to try and find a centerback pairing, and I thought they did very well together for the first time against a team that can go forward well. Kelsee Winston had a good second half, she was solid and made some big saves, and McKaley Goffard covered well and made some good stops for us. Our midfield played well too, we just need to finish better in the final third like we have in the past, we just didn't do that today."
 
On Playing Colorado State on Sunday: "We need to recover because a lot of people played a lot of minutes today, so tomorrow will be important. We're facing a Colorado State team that has been doing well and went right down to the wire against Gonzaga. We need to pick ourselves back up, and get a good result to get back to 2-2 and head to California the right way."