PORTLAND, Ore. — The sparks were flying on Sunday afternoon as Eastern Washington women's soccer faced off against Portland State. Eastern came up short, 5-2, against the Vikings despite an aggressive attack from the Eagles. The team is now 1-3-1 in the Big Sky and 2-11-1.
"A really frustrating start for our group today, giving away a couple of goals so early on. They were things we've really worked hard on and improved so significantly on over the last couple of weeks. With that said, I loved the fight by our women today," head coach
Missy Strasburg said. "We pulled goals back in both halves with great finishes by Lani Walker and
Corina Froehle. Our composure on the ball and movement in possession was much more impactful today and we created a lot of quality chances. We took a risk pushing players forward in an effort to level the score and, unfortunately, gave up late goals as a result. We fought through a lot of adversity this weekend, with heat, travel and team sickness, and still showed great fight today. We need to start games with the same competitive response and quality we show when we go down. We have a good week to prepare for a huge home match with Idaho Sunday [Oct. 15] and still have a great shot to get into the conference tournament. It would be a huge energizer for our team if we can get Eag nation out in full force to be loud and proud on Sunday at 1 p.m.!"
The game began with an offensive explosion, with three goals over a stretch of less than two minutes.
Portland St. scored first in the 6th minute and quickly followed up with its second goal in the 7th minute.
At the 7:08 mark of the game, Eastern responded as Delani Walker cut the Viking lead in half. Grace Terrill had her shot blocked, but Walker collected the rebound and put it into the net. The Eagles trailed 2-1.
In the 25th minute, Portland St. scored its third goal to rebuild its two-goal advantage. At halftime, Eastern trailed 3-1.
Out of halftime, the Eagles moved to try and tie the game up. Chloe Pattison dribbled the ball down the center of the field and fed Corina Froehle on the right side as she entered the box. Froehle fired a shot and scored the goal to cut down the Viking lead in the 53rd minute.
The game settled into a back-and-forth position battle. Eastern kept the pressure up with shots on goal from Madison Kem, Christina Munoz and Gillian Martin.
Portland St. stepped up its pressure in the last 10 minutes of the game, scoring goals in the 81st and 85th minutes. The Eagles could not counter and fell, 5-2, to the Vikings.
Eagle Notes
- Delani Walker scored her fifth goal of the season. She ranks second on the team in goals scored and points (13).
- Corina Froehle scored her third goal of the season and she has eight total points in 2023. The senior has four goals in her EWU career.
- Eastern had 11 different players record shots, with seven getting on goal.
- Maddie Morgan finished with three total shots and two on goal. She now has 155 career total shots to move into fourth place on the program's all-time list. Morgan has 84 shots on goal, good for third in program history.
Up Next
Eastern Washington will be back at home a week from today (Oct. 15) when they host Idaho at 1 p.m.
New for the 2023-24 season, the EWU Women's Sports Pass gives fans access to over 30 Eagle Athletics events, including volleyball, soccer and women's basketball for only $5 per game! Learn more and get yours today at goeags.com/tickets or call 509-359-6056.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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