Today's match between the Eastern Washington Eagles and the Portland State Vikings was nothing less than a competitive match. The Eagles hosted the Vikings in their last home match of the season which ended in a tie, 1-1. The match was also Senior day for Eastern as it honored five student-athletes before the match.

"We knew we were going to go full out this game. We've had a hard time finishing at some moments this season," head coach Missy Strasburg said. "The thing I love about this group right now is that tying feels like losing to them. Especially when we are proud of the effort they put out there. I like the mentality that we are not satisfied as a group. That is a big thing for us as a group to grow. [Maddie Morgan] was [aggressive] all day. That's why we didn't take her off in the second half. When she is feeling it right now; we trust her to finish her chances. We trust her to keep her on the field. She made a great play on the goal and had a few more chances today, creating and being in front of the net."

Striking first, Portland St. went ahead in the match from a penalty kick taken by Abi Hoffman in the first minute of play. Hoffman, a sophomore from Troutdale, Oregon, scored the first goal of the match and the only goal for the Vikings. It was Hoffman's fifth goal on the season as well. 

The Eagles hustled their way back down the field to put up a shot on goal that scored but was called offsides.

Then in the 25th minute, fifth-year senior,  Mya Elder-Hammond, connected with Maddie Morgan to get the Eagles the tying goal. Elder-Hammond took a free kick and put up a great ball for Morgan to head into the goal. Morgan collected her fifth goal this season and Elder-Hammond collected her second assist for the season.

Eastern was very active in the Vikings' territory, putting up multiple shots from Grace Terrill (4), Morgan (4), Madison Kem (3), with Kalista Kakou and Elder-Hammond each recording two. Morgan once again put up three shots on goal with Terrill and Elder-Hammond getting two. 

For the Vikings, Chloe Huling put up five shots with one shot on goal and Hoffman had three shots with one shot on goal. Cameron Dixon had the third shot on goal for Portland St. as well. 

In total, 33 fouls and three yellow cards were called between the two teams.

Eastern Washington's record now sits at 2-2-3 in the Big Sky and 5-7-5 overall. Portland State is 4-1-2 in conference and 5-6-5 overall.  

Senior Day
Before the match today, Eastern honored five of its players who will be moving on and graduating in June. Alyssa McKenzie will graduate with a degree in exercise science, while Mareonna Henderson has already earned a degree in communication studies and is pursuing her master's in social work. Kalista Kakou will earn her degree in Biology and minor in business administration. Brooke Flores will walk with her degree in communication studies and a minor in entrepreneurship. Mya Elder-Hammond earns her degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. 

"Senior day is glorious and hard at the same time. It's very emotional and you have to buckle down and play six minutes after [the recognition] is over," Strasburg described. "We knew the seniors would settle in after those first six minutes that are always tough after. I'm really proud of our response. We gave up the early goal, settled down, and got [a goal] back."

End of Match Stats:
EWU:

• The Eagles were called for 16 total fouls and two yellow cards.
• Eastern took 19 total shots, with 11 shots on goal.
• They were credited with five total corner kicks.
• Kamryn Willougby made two saves. 

PSU:

• Portland was called for 17 total fouls with one yellow card.
• The Vikings took 12 total shots, with three shots on goal.
• PSU were credited with three total corner kicks.
• Sidney O'Billovich made nine saves. 
   

Coming up for Eastern Washington:

The Eagles will be playing their last Big Sky conference match on Sunday, October 23rd at 12 p.m. Pacific Time against the Idaho Vandals in Moscow, Idaho. Eastern currently sits in 5th place in the Big Sky conference with one match left.