Eastern Washington earned the win this evening over the University of Denver on a crazy, windy day. In the 82^nd minute, Chloe Pattison scored to put the Eagles on top and secure the win, 1-0.

"It's awesome and it breaks the seal a little bit," head coach Missy Strasburg said. "The goal late here was a great combination build up and we got a goal out of Chloe [Pattison]. Any time we get our forwards on the board is a confidence builder and pays off later in the year. On top of the win, it is really important to get a great goal, almost two. We are realizing quickly that we just need to simplify things for the team. There's a lot of things going on with speed of play, physicality, tactics, and IO that go with it. Today was a great example; we changed our shape to make it simple as possible from what we expected from Denver. The team did a good job. We did a lot of bending but didn't break and the young players are gaining a lot of confidence as they get into these progressive successes."

The Pioneers took control of the ball in the first few minutes of play, putting up a shot on goal. Kamryn Willoughby was able to get to the ball on time, keeping it out of the goal. Eastern had a great defensive game over Denver tonight, keeping them scoreless throughout the game.

Mya Elder-Hammond was quick to the ball every time, keeping it moving and helping set up plays. Elder-Hammond had a several blocks, as well as giving Willoughby some back up.

After a foul was called on Denver, the Eagles had an opportunity to put a point on the board in the 34th minute. Rylee Franklin was the one to put the ball into play and had a very well-placed ball for Maddie Morgan. On the play, Morgan got her head on the ball and put it into the net, but she was called offsides. Franklin would then assist on the score for Pattison to account for the only score of the game. It was also Pattison's first career goal.

The Pioneers had an opportunity to score first in the second half on a corner kick, but it was blocked away at the last minute. Denver had possession of the ball 43% of the first half, recording seven total shots. 

The Eagles improve to 1-2-2 on the season and Denver falls to 2-2-1.

End of Game Stats:

• Eastern had eight total shots, with four shots on goal. Denver had 12 total shots with two shots on goal.
• Eight different Eagles recorded shots on Thursday.
• Kamryn Willoughby recorded her first clean sheet of her young college career with two saves. Nerea Arrazola of Denver had three saves.
• The Eagles got five fouls with one yellow card. The Pioneers had seven with one yellow card as well.
• Eastern had possession of the ball 45% of the game.

 
Up Next:
Eastern Washington will be traveling down to Las Vegas to face off UNLV on Sunday September 4^th at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time. After their Vegas match, the Eagles will be right back at home hosting the University of North Dakota on Friday, September 9^th at 3 p.m.