CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University soccer team played Northern Colorado to a 1-1 double overtime draw today (Sept. 27) at the EWU Soccer Field to open Big Sky Conference play. The Eagles went down 1-0, but Taylor Matheny was able to tie the match before the final whistle.

"The first half was the best we've played in awhile. We moved the ball really well and we created some really good chances," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "We came out in the second half and the first 15 minutes we made a mistake giving away a goal. We battled and dug against a team that is usually on top of the conference, but we will take the one point and move on to Sunday."

The first shot of the match came in the ninth minute from senior Saige Lyons who sailed the ball wide right. EWU goalkeeper Kelsee Winston picked up her first save of the match in the 23^rd minute following a shot from UNC's sophomore Maddie Duren.

Eastern let off two more shots in the first half including a shot from Mya Elder-Hammond and a header from center back Colby Wilson. Wilson made contact with the ball following a corner kick in the 45^th minute but the ball flew over the crossbar and the match remained scoreless heading into halftime.
Returning from the first half, Winston made her second save following a shot from UNC's forward Lexi Pulley.

The goal for the UNC Bears came in the 67^th minute after the Eagles gave the ball away in their defensive third. The ball fell to the feet of Pulley as she collected and delivered the ball to her teammate Olivia Seddon who took one touch and found the back of the net.

The Eagles were not ready to give up yet as they found themselves an equalizing goal six minutes later. Following a deflection from a UNC defender, Taylor Matheny collected the ball and slung a line drive from the right side of the 18-yard box into the upper left corner.

Both teams fought to gain momentum but the score remained 1-1 after 90 minutes of play.

In the first overtime period, the Eagles took three shots and Winston made two saves. In the second overtime period, the Eagles only had one shot but it was blocked and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.  

Win-Loss Record

After today's match, the Eagles are now 3-5-2 and 0-0-1 in conference play, while UNC is now 2-8-2 and 0-0-1 as well. This is the eighth time EWU has faced Northern Colorado under head coach Chad Bodnar as his record versus UNC moves to 2-4-2 with the all-time series record being 5-9-4.

Key Statistics

EWU took 14 shots during the match landing four on target while UNC took 13 shots with five on target. Eastern had seven different players with at least one shot during the match and recorded five corner kicks to UNC's one.

Top Performances

Taylor Matheny scored the lone goal in the match while Sariah Keister took two shots that were both on frame. Kelsee Winston recorded four saves in the match.

What's Next

The Eagles host Montana this Sunday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m. Pacific time at the EWU Soccer Field.