Quotes from EWU Head Coach Missy Strasburg to come.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team battled Sacramento State today (Oct. 10) and fell to a score of 4-2 at the Hornet Field complex in Sacramento, Calif. The hosts took a 2-0 advantage in the first half, but two second half goals from the Eagles plus a third Hornets goal would cut Sac State's lead to just one goal before they capitalized on a fourth goal late in the match.
The Eagles dealt with pressure early on in the match with EWU goalkeeper
Kelsee Winston making her first save in the third minute, followed by a shot from SAC's attacking forward Samantha Craig from 30 yards out that would hit the inside of the post and land in the back of the net to give Sac State the initial advantage. With the Eagles down 1-0 in the fourth minute, and the momentum swaying in Sac State's favor, Winston would be tested again when a long throw-in from the Hornets bounced inside the six-yard box and deflected towards goal, but the senior captain pushed it away from danger.
On the other end,
Gillian Martin would be played in by a ball served towards the edge of the six-yard box as she tried to poke her way past SAC's goalkeeper Mia Shalit but the ball was deflected out of bounds. Continuing on the attack, Eastern mounted another effort, this time from center attacking midfielder
Maddie Morgan who beamed one at the bottom center which would be scooped up by Shalit.
With under two minutes left in the first half, the Hornets created one final chance and converted after SAC forward Jordan Goularte put one past Winston in the 44
th minute.
After the break, the Eagles took no time in putting themselves back in the contest as they scored an early second half goal in the 47
th minute. It was a brilliantly displayed goal as it started with
Mya Elder-Hammond from her own half to find
Grace Terrill down the line who dribbled around a defender and sent the ball into the box to the freshman, Martin, who one-touched it to a wide-open
Brittany Delridge as she calmly tapped the ball home.
With chances mounting on both sides, Sac State would scramble their way into the EWU six-yard box forcing Winston to come up with consecutive saves to keep the ball away from the net. However, the pressure from the Hornets paid off after they scored a third goal in the 62
nd minute following a misplaced clearance as SAC forward Jasmyne Dunn slotted it into the lower far post.
Eastern Washington attempted to regain momentum with a few ambitious efforts, including a response attempt in the 63
rd minute by
Kaelyn Barnes towards the top corner, Elder-Hammond in the 79
th minute towards the upper seven and a third attempt by Delridge which flew just wide of the net. As the clock continued to run down, the Eagles refused to give up as their relentlessness would pay off in the 83
th minute as they cut the lead to just one goal. The play started after Delridge received the ball in the wide area as she looked up to notice runners in the box and served a dangerous driven ball across the goal to eventually find the foot of
Taylor Matheny to slam it into the back of the net.
However, the action was far from over as the Hornets marched down the other side of the field to respond with a fourth and final goal in the 86
th minute. As the final whistle was blown, the Eagles walked away with a 4-2 deficit.
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: EWU moves to 5-9 overall with an even 3-3 Big Sky Conference record while Sacramento State moves to 3-8-2 overall and 2-3 in league play.
TOP PERFORMANCES: Brittany Delridge scored one goal and took three shots in 60 minutes of play.
Taylor Matheny scored one goal while only taking one shot attempt.
Maddie Morgan collected one assist and took four shots, landing two on frame.
Gillian Martin collected one assist and took three shots, putting two on target.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: Eastern Washington outshot Sac State 13-11 but landed eight on target versus SAC's nine.
The Eagles forced the Vikings to make six saves versus EWU's five, while Eastern took three corner kicks and Sacramento State took four corner kicks.
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington's next scheduled fixtures include three home matches beginning with Northern Colorado on Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. Pacific time at the EWU Soccer Field. Following the match, the Eagles host Montana on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. PT and finish the regular season with Idaho on Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. PT.
All matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be followed via live stats on
EWUStats.com.
Northern Colorado ESPN+
Montana ESPN+
Idaho ESPN+
