Cheney, Wash. - The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team is inching closer to the start of the 2021 fall season. The Eagles have been training hard under newly named head coach Missy Strasburg and are excited for the upcoming season that looks to be operated in normal fashion following an unusual 2021 spring season. 

"As a staff, we are very happy and impressed with the extra energy shown so far. From the resilience displayed to the quality of play, we are extremely excited about what will come this season," said head coach Missy Strasburg. "The goalkeepers and attacking players have stood out to me. All three of my keepers have great hands and excellent feet, which is a great start to building a team. Our attacking players continue to make good runs and get high on the lines. They are smart and create really good ideas on how to break down the defense. I think we will have a lot of flexibility with what we can do with the team in terms of shape and style to keep opponents off balance."

Eastern Washington, who has won a Big Sky Conference Tournament title in two out of the last five seasons, is looking to build on a shortened season that saw a winning 5-4-2 finish last spring. Additionally, the 2021 spring squad finished above .500 for the seventh season in a row and has a standard focus around winning.

The opening of the 2021 fall schedule includes Eastern strapping back on its boots and hitting the pitch to host Columbia Basin this Friday, Aug. 13 at 5 p.m. Pacific time at the EWU Soccer Field. The match will mark the first time in program history these schools have clashed against one another.

This match will not have live video but fans can catch the LIVE STATS HERE.

MEET THE RETURNERS: The Eagles welcome back 23 returners and nine starters to this year's squad. In addition, the 2021 fall roster is filled with the 2019 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and 2020 second-team defender, Taylor Matheny, first-team selection Madison Kem and second-team selection Sariah Keister.

Forwards: The Eagles return a solid number of veterans on the front line including leading goal scorer Matheny, along with Maddie Morgan who earned herself two goals and three assists in the 11 matches played.

Matheny, the senior from West Richland, Wash., scored three goals and three assists to collect nine points, the most on the team, as well as tied for first in Big Sky Conference play for assists.

Morgan, the sophomore from Kennewick, Wash., earned Big Sky Player of the Week (March 15) after scoring two goals and tallying an assist for five points across two matches versus Portland State.

Another threat in the EWU attacking position is second-team All-Big Sky forward Sariah Keister, who scored two goals for the Eagles last season, as she returns for her senior year at Eastern.

Grace Terrill, the Ronald, Wash., native, returns as a freshman after competing in a shortened 2021 spring schedule in which she scored two goals and took 11 total shots, six on target.

Sophomore Brooke Flores returns on the frontlines after scoring one goal and handing out one assist against the College of Idaho last spring. Other returning forwards include freshmen Madelyn Brothers, Anessa Campos, and Angela Cipriano.
 
Midfielders: After receiving Newcomer of the Year during her freshman year, first-team selection Madison Kem returns for her sophomore year to control the midfield as she played and started in all 11 matches for the Eagles last season.

Another force in the midfield is Brittany Delridge as she returns as a redshirt-junior coming off a three-point season after scoring one goal and one assist last spring.

Joining this group are junior Kaelyn Barnes and sophomores Corina Froehle and Kalista Kakou. Barnes played in four matches for the Eagles and 60 minutes on the pitch, while Froehle contributed in three matches and Kakou competed in seven matches. Additionally, redshirt-junior Mareonna Henderson returns after competing in four matches and logging 51 minutes.

Defenders: A trio of juniors in Jordyn King, Janae Lee and Marissa Mills return to the starting lineup for the Eagles. King started in all 11 matches for the Eagles while Lee played in all 11 and represented the starting line-up in nine matches. Mills played in all 11 matches with six starts and one assist against Montana (April 9), which opened-up the scoring. Additionally, all three players anchored the Eagle backline and finished with four total shutouts during the season.

The Eagles welcome back junior Mya Elder-Hammond who played in 11 matches and started in one. Elder-Hammond is no stranger to EWU as she has a second-team All-Big Sky midfielder nod under her belt and returns to assist in the defensive midfielder role.

Adding to the defenders is returning sophomore Alyssa McKenzie and freshman Lulu Sadler.

Goalkeepers: Eastern returns goalkeeper Kelsee Winston for her senior year. Winston has earned a Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week nod at least once in every season with EWU and holds the school record in career shutouts with 18. The Pasco, Wash., native picked up her fourth defensive award after helping the Eagles shutout the College of Idaho, 5-0, at Roos Field (Feb. 28) for their home-opener.

Last season, in EWU's season-opener at Washington State on Feb. 12, she notched a career-high 13 saves and made seven against Gonzaga in the match after. In the season prior, she led the Eagles on a seven-game unbeaten streak recording four-straight shutouts and finished the season with six total shutouts. 

Other returning goalies include freshmen Kiara Matson and Allie Thompson.

MEET THE NEWCOMERS: Eastern welcomes not only a new experienced coach, but also five newcomers to the program. All are expected to help the Eagles soar into the new season.

The new Eagles include forward Gillian Martin and midfielders Rylee Franklin, Allie Jones and Katrina Kupp. Additionally, defender Miranda Matson, sister to EWU goalkeeper Kiara Matson, joins the Eagle squad as a true freshman.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR: The Eagles finished the 2021 spring season with a winning record for the sixth-straight year, finishing 5-4-2 with a 4-2-2 conference record, collecting the fourth best record across all BSC programs.
 
Following the spring season, six Eastern Washington University women's soccer players received All-Big Sky Conference awards. The Eagles had two first team selections in McKaley Goffard and Madison Kem, while Colby Wilson, Taylor Matheny and Sariah Keister represented EWU on the second team. Jordyn King rounded out the selections with an honorable mention nod.

EWU's goalkeeper Kelsee Winston, who returns in the fall of 2021, recorded 52 total saves on the year and is currently the school record holder in career shutouts with 18 total. She had a single-season save percentage of .776 with four total shutouts in the spring of 2021.
 
Eastern scored 18 total goals last spring and took 150 total shots to average 1.64 goals per game. The team took 69 total shots on goal and took 52 total corner kicks to average 13.6 shots per game.

Newly Appointed Head Coach – Missy Strasburg: Missy Strasburg was officially named the fourth head coach in Eastern Washington soccer history on June 23, 2021. The start of the 2021-22 season is her first at the helm following her previous assistant coaching position at Air Force Academy.

At Air Force, Strasburg coached the Falcons to a 10-7-1 record in 2019 for the best single-season win percentage in the program's Division I history. That season also saw the team score 36 goals with seven shutouts and a program record 28 assists. Three players also earned All-Mountain West honors, including the MWC Player and Newcomer of the Year. Additionally, Strasburg guided the Falcons to 14 total wins in 2017 and 2016, qualifying for the Mountain West Tournament for the first time since 2005 during the 2017 season.

Prior to her time in Colorado Springs, Strasburg had assistant coaching stints at the University of New Mexico, Saint Mary's College (Calif.), Texas-San Antonio, Georgia Southern, Washington and North Carolina-Greensboro.
 
Strasburg is no stranger to the Spokane area, as she was heavily involved in the youth soccer scene to begin her coaching career. She first served as the head varsity girls' soccer coach at Riverside High School in Chattaroy, Wash., from 2001 to 2003. There, she guided the program to three state tournament appearances and was named Great Northern League Coach of the Year in 2003.
 
She spent seven years as the program director and team coach for multiple age groups for the Spokane Shadow Soccer Club.
 
Strasburg played collegiately at nearby Gonzaga University from 1997-2001 where she earned her degree in Business Administration. A four-year starting defender, Strasburg ended her career third all-time in career assists and second all-time in single season assists.
 
She continued her education at the University of Washington where she earned her Master's of Education in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership in 2010. Currently, she is the founder of the BlueFire Leadership Academy, LLC.

THE SCHEDULE: The 2021 fall schedule includes 16 total regular season matches and one exhibition, with nine to be played at home. Additionally, the Eagles face four new programs in Columbia Basin College, Arkansas State, St. Thomas and Texas Tech.

EWU's first match includes an exhibition at home against Columbia Basin College on Aug. 13 at the EWU Soccer Field.

Eastern's non-conference schedule officially begins on Aug. 19 at Gonzaga.

The first official home match for Eastern Washington takes place on Saturday, Aug. 21 against Arkansas State. Following the match, the Eagles travel to face Washington State and Seattle before returning home to host CSU Bakersfield and St. Thomas on Sept. 5 and Sept. 16, respectively. To conclude non-conference play, the Eagles take a road trip to face Texas Tech on Sept. 19.

Big Sky Conference play begins Sept. 24 against Idaho State on the road. The Eagles stay on the road to face Weber State on Sept. 26 and then return home for two matches at the EWU Soccer Field against Southern Utah on Oct. 1 and Northern Arizona on Oct. 3.

The following weekend consists of two away matches versus Portland State on Oct. 8 and Sacramento State on Oct. 10. The regular season closes with home matches against Northern Colorado on Oct. 15, Montana on Oct. 17 and Idaho on Oct. 24.  

The first round of the Big Sky Conference Championships takes place on Nov. 3-7 in Greeley, Colo., with the winner of the tournament receiving the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.