Eastern Washington women's soccer had a contested match tonight at EWU Soccer Field, as the Nevada Wolf Pack and Eagles ended with a 1-1 tie. After trailing at halftime, freshman Marina Downing scored her first career goal and knotted the match up at one.
"To pull the game back and get the goal back, along with threatening with some really good chances in the second half; it was a really positive step for the team," head coach Missy Strasburg said. "The first thing any team has to do is gain possession of the ball. We have to be willing to get stuck and use our bodies properly, using what we have to seal players off from the ball. We had a much better response coming out of halftime in that effort."
The Eagles had home field advantage over the Nevada Wolf Pack, but both teams battled for possession early in the match.
In the 16th minute, Nevada went on top scoring the first goal of the match by way of sophomore Emily Rich.
The Eagles kept on fighting and in the 63rd minute, Downing came in clutch to tie the match. Downing had a great run down the field, maneuvering through the Wolf Pack to put up her shot over the goalie's head.
"Marina is a really tough player and she is built with the relentlessness we want out of attacking players," Starsburg said of Downing. "She forgets about mistakes easily. We have to remind players like her, to try and turn the corner on players. I'm really happy for her and it's a really special moment to get your first collegiate goal. We feel strongly that there is more to come from her."
Both Maddie Morgan and Grace Terrill would record shots on goal in the second half to try and put the Eagles ahead, but the game ended 1-1. Eastern improved to 0-1-2 on the season, while Nevada's season record now sits at 0-1-1.
End of Game Stats:
- The Eagles had four total shots, while Nevada had seven.
- Eastern ended with three corner kicks.
- Eagles ended with eight total fouls. Nevada had 16, adding one yellow card in the 33rd minute.
- The Eagles held possession of the ball for 44% of the game.
Up Next:
Eastern Washington's next matchup will be a road trip, heading over to Pullman against the Washington State Cougars. The game will start on Sunday, August 28th at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
