*Eastern Washington's Feb. 15 game at Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., has been moved to March 2nd due to weather*

PULLMAN, Wash. – After 460 days without competition, the Eastern Washington University soccer team finally returned to the pitch tonight (Feb. 12) as they faced No. 19 Washington State in Pullman, Wash., for its season opener. Madison Kem gave the Eagles an early lead in the fourth minute via a penalty kick goal, but the Cougars found the final four goals to take the 4-1 decision.

"I thought we played much better today against a team that was obviously in the Final Four last year. We conceded a goal with a minute left in the first half and then 30 seconds into the second half. There's a lot of little things we can fix and get better at fast," said head coach Chad Bodnar. "It's nice to play again and get to compete and our group is getting better quickly. All credit to a very good Washington State team and program."
 
Washington State wasted no time putting on the pressure, as they fired off back-to-back shots in the bottom center of the net that were both saved by senior keeper Kelsee Winston in the first two minutes of the match.
 
However, it was the Eagles who capitalized first after a foul inside the box and Madison Kem was called on to take the penalty kick in the fourth minute and she made it, putting the Eagles up 1-0 in the match.
 
Two minutes later, the Cougars found the equalizer behind the foot of Grayson Lynch.
 
The Cougars worked hard to find their first lead of the match following the equalizer, as they fired off nine shots in eight minutes with five on goal. Winston made four saves to keep WSU away with the other credited to the EWU defense.
 
After Winston made her sixth save of the night in the 37^th minute, Washington State found its first lead in the 44^th minute.
 
Mya Elder-Hammond found an opportunity seconds before halftime, but came up short and the Eagles trailed 2-1 at the half.
 
Washington State scored its third goal of the match thirty seconds into the second half to take a 3-1 lead. As the second half rolled on, both Grace Terrill and Maddie Morgan took attempts to put the Eagles back in the game but couldn't capitalize.
 
Winston was called on to make six more saves in the final 45 minutes, but the Cougars tacked on one more goal for insurance in the 84^th minute from Margie Detrizio.
 
After 90 minutes of play, Eastern Washington fell 3-1 to Washington State.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington falls to 0-1 after the season-opening loss while Washington State improves to 2-0.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Madison Kem scored the lone goal for the Eagles. The goal marked the fourth of the sophomore's career and her third career score via penalty kick, as she is now a perfect 3-for-3 in an Eagle uniform after making two as a freshman in 2019.
 
Kelsee Winston notched a career-high 12 saves in a full 90 minutes between the posts.
 
Three other Eagles recorded shots in Grace Terrill, Mya Elder Hammond and Maddie Morgan.
 
Two Eagles made their Eastern Washington debuts in Terrill and Jordyn King, who both earned a spot in the starting lineup.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: Eastern Washington took four total shots with one on goal. They collected 13 total saves, 12 of which came from Winston and one was credited to the EWU defense. The Eagles also had one corner kick.
 
Washington State took 25 total shots with 18 on goal and did not make a save while recording nine corner kicks.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington has a quick turn-around, as they'll head to Spokane, Wash., to face the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Monday, Feb. 15 at 1 p.m.