CHENEY, Wash. – Following a weekend on the road, the Eastern Washington University women's soccer team returns home for two Big Sky Conference matches beginning with Northern Colorado this Friday, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. Pacific time at the EWU Soccer Field in Cheney, Wash. Two days later, the Eagles welcome Montana to the EWU Soccer Field on Oct. 17 for a 1 p.m. PT kick off.

HOW TO WATCH: Admission to EWU home matches are free to attend and open to full capacity. 

EWU's home match versus Northern Colorado will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can catch the LIVE STATS HERE.

EWU's home match against Montana will also be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can catch the LIVE STATS HERE.

For more information on how to watch on ESPN+ click HERE. 

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: The Eagles currently sit with an overall record of 5-9 and an even 3-3 in Big Sky Conference play. The squad returns after a weekend on the road in which they shutout Portland State 1-0, and fell just short at Sac State, 4-2, in which EWU was moments away from a second half comeback.

Freshman Gillian Martin, a young and promising prospect, scored the lone goal which turned into the winning goal in the first match against the Vikings after a brilliant strike into the upper right-hand corner early in the match. Martin, who scored her first collegiate goal against St. Thomas back in September, collected her second career goal and second game-winning goal as an Eastern Eagle.

In the battle at Sacramento State, the Eagles came back twice from two goals down after the Hornets lead 2-0 in the first half and 1-2 (47^th minute), then 1-3 (62^nd minute) then 2-3 (84^th minute) in the second, but a late goal in the 86^th minute lifted SAC to victory. Efforts by Martin who found Brittany Delridge inside the 18-yard box who took one touch to find the back of the net, as well as an ambitious effort from Delridge to find Taylor Matheny on the back end who slammed it one-time into the goal, put the Eagles in contest with the Hornets.

EWU captain goalkeeper Kelsee Winston provided a great performance last weekend after collecting a total of 12 saves in the two matches. Winston currently leads the conference in most saves at 102 and has the fourth highest save percentage at .829 across 14 competitions. Additionally, she leads the conference in saves per game with an average of 7.85 saves.

The EWU squad has nine different players who have scored at least one goal as Madison Kem and Gillian Martin lead the charge with four points each. Furthermore, the Eagles are ahead of Northern Arizona (3-3), Portland State (2-2-1), Idaho (2-3-1) Sacramento State (2-3), Idaho State (1-4) and Southern Utah (0-5-1), in the conference standings.

Knowing Your Opponent: Northern Colorado

Northern Colorado is led by head coach Tim Barrera who enters his 27th season at the helm of the Bears program. Since being at the helm, he has led his program to the Big Sky Championship game in four of the past five years, two of which have been against the Eagles.

Currently, the Bears are 7-6-2 overall and lead the conference with an undefeated 5-0 league record. Forward Lexi Pulley leads the squad with nine goals while Taylor Bray trails right behind with three goals and four assists.

The Eagles have an all-time series record of 5-10-4 against UNC with their last victory dated back to 2017. Additionally, this match will serve as a rematch of the 2019 Big Sky Conference Championship game as the Bears found an early goal to defeat the Eagles 1-0.  

Knowing Your Opponent: Montana

Montana is led by head coach Chris Citowicki who enters his fourth season at the helm of the Griz program. Last spring, in an abnormal 2021 schedule, the Griz went 9-2 overall, collecting a 7-1 conference record.

UM is currently 7-5-1 overall with a 3-1-1 league record as the squad returns from a 1-0 deficit to Northern Colorado last Sunday. Junior midfielder Sydney Haustein leads the Griz with four goals while fifth-year forward Taylor Stoeger has two goals and three assists and fifth-year defender Taylor Hansen has one goal and five assists.

The Eagles have an all-time series record of 8-16-2 against the Griz with a 3-2-1 record in their last six outings. EWU faced Montana in two consecutive matches last season and walked away with a 3-2 overtime victory in the first matchup and a 3-1 deficit in the second matchup. Senior Taylor Matheny scored the golden goal to secure the 3-2 overtime win at Montana after McKaley Goffard and Sariah Keister slotted home the first two goals.

What's Next: Following the two conference home matches, the Eagles host one final match as they welcome Idaho on Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. PT to the EWU Soccer Field to conclude the regular season.

Fans can catch the LIVE STATS HERE and watch on ESPN+ HERE.