CHENEY, Wash. – Following a stretch of away matches over the weekend, the Eastern Washington University women's soccer team returns to the EWU Soccer Field this Friday and Sunday as they host Big Sky Conference opponents Southern Utah and Northern Arizona, respectively. The first matchup versus Southern Utah begins at 2 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, Oct. 1 while the second matchup versus Northern Arizona begins at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, Oct. 3.

HOW TO WATCH: EWU's home match versus Southern Utah will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can catch the LIVE STATS HERE.

EWU's home match against Northern Arizona 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. 

Additionally, admission to EWU home matches are free to attend and open to full capacity. 

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES:

The Eagles currently sit with an overall record of 3-7 and 1-1 in Big Sky Conference play. The squad returns after a weekend on the road in which they defeated Idaho State 3-1, and fell just short at Weber State, 2-1.

Sophomore Maddie Morgan was the young hero in the match against the Bengals as she scored two goals during 80 minutes of play to collect a total of nine career goals for the EWU program. In the same match against ISU, Madison Kem only needed to take one shot to hit her mark and find the back of the net as she scored her fifth career goal as an Eagle.

In the battle at Weber State, the Eagles carried the momentum in the first half after leading 1-0, but two late goals in the second half lifted the Wildcats to victory. It was an effort by Sariah Keister who found Brooke Flores outside the 18-yard box in which Flores only needed one touch and some tricky footwork to unleash a powerful top bins finish.

EWU captain goalkeeper Kelsee Winston provided another brilliant performance last weekend after collecting a total of 15 saves in the two matches. Winston currently leads the conference in most saves at 72 and has the third highest save percentage at .818 across 10 competitions. Additionally, she leads the conference in saves per game with an average of eight saves.

The EWU squad has eight different players who have scored at least one goal as Brooke Flores, Sariah Keister and Maddie Morgan lead the charge with four points each. Furthermore, the Eagles are ahead of Sacramento State (1-6-2), Northern Arizona (2-9), Southern Utah (1-9), and Idaho State (0-11-1) in the conference standings.

Knowing Your Opponent: Southern Utah

Southern Utah is led by head coach Kai Edwards who enters his second season at the helm of the Thunderbirds. In the 2021 shortened spring season, led his squad to an overall 5-3-1 record with a 3-3-0 conference record.

Currently, the Thunderbirds are 1-9-0 overall and 0-2-0 in league play as they return from a 1-0 loss to Montana.

The Eagles have an all-time series record of 6-2-1 against the Thunderbirds with a four-match unbeaten streak. Additionally, in the last three competitions, the Eagles have scored a total of nine goals without conceding a single one. The last time these two programs clashed with one another, Brittany Delridge scored two goals to help retain the Eagles unbeaten conference streak.

Knowing Your Opponent: Northern Arizona

Northern Arizona is led by head coach Kylie Louw who enters her second season at the helm of the Lumberjack program, after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach on the NAU staff. Last spring, in an abnormal 2021 schedule, the Lumberjacks went 7-2-1 overall, collecting a 5-1-1 conference record.

Northern Arizona is currently 2-9-0 overall with an 0-2 league record as the squad returns from a 2-0 deficit to Northern Colorado last Sunday. Sophomore midfielder Maddie Shafer leads the Lumberjacks with three goals and three assists, all of which were collected in non-conference play.

The Eagles have an all-time series record of 9-13-2 against the Northern Arizona with a four-match unbeaten streak. Additionally, in the last three outings, the Eagles have scored a total of seven goals without conceding a single one. In the last matchup between these two schools, the Eagles walked away with a 2-0 shutout victory after two early goals scored by Taylor Matheny and Sariah Keister, respectively.

What's Next: Following the two conference home matches, the Eagles hit the road to face Portland State on Oct. 8 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time in Portland, Ore.

Two days later, EWU heads to Sacramento, Calif., to compete against Sac State on Oct. 10 with kickoff set for 1 p.m. PT. 

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be followed via live stats.