CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University soccer team hosted North Dakota State but fell short in today's match (Sept. 20). The Eagles found the back of the net twice but the Bison closed the match on top, 4-2.

"The last three or four games, there's been a theme. We have to concede a goal before we wake up and then we start to play," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "We came out in the second half and scored a goal to get back into it, we just weren't good enough anywhere on the field."

Eastern kicked off the match with a shot from Sariah Keister in the third minute following an Eagle corner kick but it was blocked by a NDSU defender. The Eagles put up eight shots in hopes of scoring but the North Dakota State Bison found the back of the net first when senior Elyse Huber, a transfer from Nebraska, scored in the 33rd minute.

EWU's Megan Drake tried to even the score in the 43rd minute but her shot was saved by NDSU goalkeeper Monica Polgar as the scored remained 1-0 going into halftime.

The Eagles returned from the first half with some fire as Saige Lyons dribbled down the right sideline and found the feet of Keister in the 47th minute to tie the game 1-1.

Shortly after, the Bison marched down the field and let off a shot that was saved by EWU goalkeeper Kelsee Winston but she failed to clear the ball as it landed at the feet of Huber in the 50th minute who turned and scored. The score turned 2-1 in North Dakota State's favor.

The third goal for NDSU came in the 57th minute when Huber received the ball from Brookelyn Dew after making a diagonal run across the box and found the bottom right corner to turn the score 3-1.

After going down two goals, the Eagles battled back and found themselves a second goal in the 66th minute. The goal came from an assist by Lyons who dribbled down the sideline and found Keister who slotted the ball in the right corner to turn the score 3-2.

The Eagles were determined to even the score with the time winding down but got caught off guard when Polgar sent the ball to Huber who took one dribble and chipped Winston to score her fourth goal of the match.

Eastern ended the match with a 4-2 defeat after ninety minutes of play.

Win Loss Record

After today's match, Eastern falls to 3-5-1 while North Dakota State is now 5-3-1. The all-time series is now 1-2-1 overall for the Eagles.

Top Performances

Sariah Keister scored two goals in the match and now has five goals for the season leading the Eagles with 10 points. Saige Lyons had both the assists to Keister and now has four assists total for the season.

Key Stats

Eastern recorded 15 shots, nine of which on target, while NDSU had 14 shots with eight of them on frame. EWU took nine corners to NDSU's seven and EWU goalkeeper Kelsee Winston recorded four saves.

What's Next

The Eagles host conference foe Northern Colorado this Friday, Sept. 27, at 3 p.m. followed by another home match on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m. against Montana on the EWU Soccer Field.