Cheney, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team steps back on the pitch this Thursday, Aug. 19 to face the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Pacific time in Spokane, Wash. Following the match, the Eagles return home to host their home opener against Arkansas State on Saturday, Aug. 21 at 4 p.m. PT at the EWU Soccer Field.
HOW TO WATCH: The match versus Gonzaga will be
LIVE STREAMED HERE and fans can catch the
LIVE STATS HERE.
Live Video for the match against Arkansas State will be available 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 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.
Alongside these returners is
Maddie Morgan who earned herself two goals and three assists in the 11 matches played last season.
Grace Terrill and
Brooke Flores also return as attacking threats in EWU's arsenal. Additionally, a trio of juniors in
Jordyn King,
Janae Lee and
Marissa Mills return to the starting backline for the Eagles.
Newly named EWU head coach
Missy Strasburg debuts her first soccermatch for the Eagle program against a familiar opponent in Gonzaga, as she played and graduated from the Bulldog program before continuing her education at the University of Washington.
Furthermore, newly named EWU assistant women's soccer coach
Tyler Brown will be competing against his wife, Lexi Brown, who is entering her fifth season with the Gonzaga Bulldogs as an assistant women's soccer coach and recruiting coordinator.
KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT – Gonzaga: The Bulldogs are led by head coach Chris Watkins who enters his fifth season at the helm.
Last season, Watkins guided his squad to an overall winning 7-3-1 record and 5-2-1 West Coast Conference record. The shortened season saw seven different Bulldogs score two goals, as the team finished with 19 total goals scored to average 1.73 goals per game.
The Eagles have an overall record of 4-17-1 versus the Zags with the series dating back to 1998. The last time out versus GU the Eagles fell short 2-0 on the road. Prior to that, the Eagles came away with a 2-1 victory at home back in 2017. The victory marked the first time Eastern defeated Gonzaga since 2002 and the first time in program history EWU defeated the Zags in Cheney. Additionally, three out of the four victories for EWU have been on the road in Spokane, Wash.
KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT – Arkansas State: The Red Wolves are led by Brian Dooley who enters his seventh season at the helm.
After competing in a 2020 fall season and a shortened 2021 spring season in the Sun Belt Conference, the Red Wolves finished last season with an overall winning record of 11-5-1, going unbeaten in their first eight matches. The southern squad also went unbeaten in conference play finishing 7-0-1 with a draw against Central Arkansas.
The match on Saturday will mark the first time the Eagles have faced the Arkansas State program. Before heading to Cheney, Wash., the Red Wolves face Washington State two days prior in Pullman, Wash.
WHAT'S NEXT: Following the two non-conference matches, the Eagles face Pac-12 opponent Washington State in Pullman, Wash., on Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. PT. The match will be live streamed on the Pac-12 WSU Live Stream network.
